Faded Moon
by Blood Masks
Summary: His destiny was decided before he was even born. To be the moon that follows after the sun... But what happens when you're faced with not one, but two shining suns to follow after?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do now own KKM, nor do I own any of its characters

Warnings: One sided MuraYuu, slight ShinouDaikenja. Unbeta-ed, pointing out of grammatical or spelling mistakes is appreciated.

_Re-posted to correct a few things._

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_"I wish you become the gentle light that dispels the darkness and lights the way. He who follows the sun, to become the moon."_

...oOo...

Murata Ken sat on a small desk by the second window on his room. He was reading some random book, as he usually did before going to bed.

Reading was something special for him, it had been long before he was the person he now was. From the start of the life of his now four thousand years old soul, reading had been something special. A chance to escape this world and forget about his problems, or the ones of the kingdom.

But tonight, just as the night before, reading had proved useless to part his mind from the latest ghost haunting him. This particular ghost had black hair and eyes, just like him; and had recently become impossible to get out of his thoughts.

Shibuya Yuuri, his name was. The twenty-seventh Maou of Shin Makoku and the shining sun guiding their people into a new era of peace. A character like that could easily be engraved in someone's head, specially when said someone is actually the Maou's advisor.

However, his position wasn't what kept the Maou in Ken's mind. It was definitely not the reason his chest felt so tight at the sight of Yuuri strolling around the courtyard with his fiancé by his side, and positively not the reason his heart kept on beating so fast whenever he was left alone with his king.

No, his position had nothing to do with his current predicament, and being a smart man, Ken knew that more than well.

Through many lives the soul of the Daikenja had learned about love, lost and happiness. Even though Shinou had always been on his mind, he had found love in many forms and learned true love was always worth the pain that came along with it. So he knew how to recognize love and he knew enough to know his was now a one-sided one.

He threw his head back and covered his eyes with one hand, trying to ease the pain that had decided to comfortably settle between his temples. Yeah, this was going to be one of those nights.

But honestly, what more could he do at this point? Grovel in self-pity was definitely not his style, and neither it was to go back on his word. So when he started noticing the changes on his feelings towards his goofy friend **over three years ago**, what had he done? He continued to try and get Yuuri and Wolfram together, of course.

You could call him stupid, masochist even, he would probably agree. Maybe if circumstances had been different he might had also acted differently, but in this time and in this world there was a big, blond, blue-eyed circumstance that had prevented him from it.

"Why won't you just be honest, I wonder" And speaking of which, Shinou appeared out of nowhere, as usual, in the worst of moment. Ken didn't as much as move a muscle as sign of surprise, mainly because he wasn't, absolute lack of privacy was a mandatory aspect of living in the Shrine.

"What are you talking about?" he replied turning slightly without bothering to stand or actually look at the semi transparent man beside him. His eyes carelessly moving through the page in which the book on his table had been left open, before his own thoughts had distracted him.

"My Sage, you know very well I am not one to be fooled by your attempts of hiding behind those glasses"

Oh yes, his trademark move, Ken did it so often he hadn't noticed he had done it just now, the light of the candle and the angle in which he was looking at the book made his glasses gleam hiding his eyes from sight. You could call it some sort of defense mechanism if you want, Ken himself rathered think it was more of a tactical thing.

"Shut up" Ken answered rubbing the bridge of his nose and lifting his glasses slightly, far too mentally exhausted to concern himself too much with Shinou or his mocking of him. His headache seemed to be reaching a boiling point as his temples began to pound with a rather annoying rhythm.

"I thought I taught you long ago that the answer to your problems was not inside of some book. Actions, Ken, are what make changes"

Ken mentally chucked at such a cheesy line spoken in such a solemn tone, his mood a little better after Shinou's knowing attempt to make him laugh; something Ken rarely did when he was around him, not wholeheartedly at least.

"Well, I seem to recall how your actions nearly got us killed more than once" Ken said now looking straight at his former king and love. Although thinking about love and Shinou together at this point seemed awfully fruitless... and painful in more than one way.

"I'll admit my acting may lack some tactical thinking, but that you have enough to give away. I see no reason not to act on whatever it is that seems to haunt you so" And with that Shinou turned around and started to make his way to the door, by foot, unnecessary as it may had been. Maybe he just enjoyed knowing Ken would be watching him leave.

"You should be the last to say something like this" Ken whispered, maybe he just mouthed the words, but Shinou seemed to heard them all nonetheless.

Shinou walked slowly those last few steps until reaching the open doorway and then stopped, for a second or maybe two, to take a calming breath, even if just imaginary.

"I learned some years ago that a wise man once said to his King that we must leave the past behind us and not let our memories destroy the present." He said and then looked back to meet Ken's eyes, opened just a little wider than usual. "The past agrees with him" he said carefully enunciating each word, before disappearing in the same way he had appeared.

Ken stood still for a few seconds even after he made sure Shinou's energy had left elsewhere and knowing he was alone again. He dared not move a muscle even so.

Those words, he remembered them well as his own, for they had been said with much difficulty in an even more difficult time.

It seemed as if decades, if not centuries, had gone by since them, but only less than eight years ago he had said those words to Yuuri before facing Shinou, well, Soushou possessed Shinou to be more precise.

It wasn't all that hard to imagine Shinou hearing him at that moment, he was the Original King after all, but... knowing he had, was a double punch on the guts for Ken. Not only did the thought of finally breaking his seemingly undying connection to Shinou caused him some very mixed feelings, but Shinou was fine with it?

Don't get it wrong, it would be a lie to say that the feelings of the original Daikenja had ever changed. The man who he had loved and served with his life all those years ago, remained the same in his eyes. But Ken wasn't the Daikenja, he knew those feelings existed somewhere in his heart and they would never completely vanish, but they would also never be completely his.

And even so, the idea of letting go of that long-lost love between two people whose time had so long ago passed, was insanely and inexplicably painful for Ken.

Of all of his memories in all of his lifes, the first one seemed always the more vivid. The Daikenja's and Shinou's love had been a rocky one, mutual no doubt, but hardly consummated. Maybe that made it all the more difficult to let go. First there was the war and then there was the forming of the kingdom, and when peace seemed to be at hand's reach, along with their long overdue honeymoon period, the Soushou had started to take over Shinou and well, no one could say _that_ ended well.

Murata let out a sigh he didn't knew he was holding before standing up and walking to his bed. Too tired to put on his pajamas he just undressed and got under the silky cold covers that eased the heat of what seemed to be becoming one of the hottest nights that summer.

That night memories plagued Ken's dreams, of past and present times. Two bright suns shone on him as he slept, tossing and turning uncharacteristically, unable to pick a sun for the moon to follow after.

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Hi guys, as you probably already know the first phrase is a line by Dr. Rodriguez on chapter 26 of the anime and it's my inspiration for this fic.

I don't know if I should leave this as it is now or if I should make it the epilogue of a multi chapter story in which I'd be exploring the peculiar territory of MuraYuu... I'm rally not sure what I should do, I'm all for Yuuram and MuraShinou, but I wanted to maybe play around with the idea a little.

So! You tell me, do I continue this or not?


	2. Let me say Goodbye

**_WARNING: _**One sided WolfYuu, ShinMura and MuraYuu, we'll see how this changes in time. Rating also may change. This story is not revised, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated.

_Re-posted to correct a few things._

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_Let me say Goodbye_

Some things in life, with time and by force of repetition, become essential in a person's daily routine. Of course, in the case of Shibuya Yuuri, those things weren't exactly what he would've imagined just a few years back.

The 27th Maou of Shin Makoku lay awake on his enormous bed, thinking it was probably about the time the mahogany double doors of his bedchambers were opened by his godfather, like every other day at seven am.

He was actually quite an early bird himself, and would wake up on his own much earlier most of the time. However, there was a petite, blond, emerald eyed reason for him not being up and ready yet.

Yuuri sighed softly and lifted his head slightly to look at the source of the current weight on his chest. Wolfram slept soundly, with half of his body sort of tangled up with Yuuri's.

Taking a moment he wondered exactly when was it that something like this had become actually normal.

Thinking back, this comfortable and warm position, as odd as it might had been at the beginning, was quite the improvement from being kicked out of his own bed every morning.

Looking at the smaller frame that had his left arm completely immobilized in a deadly grip that warned not to dare bother his sleep, Yuuri could probably understand how Shouri must have felt when they slept together growing up. In its own way, the whole thing was pretty sweet. Although the adorable picture was completely different once the beast was awoken, exactly the reason Yuuri had long ago decided to leave that job to Conrad.

To be completely honest, the situation of his sleeping bedmate wasn't really a problem for Yuuri anymore, at least it didn't bother him like it used to. After all Wolf was his best friend and he loved him, as a friend.

_That _was actually the problem.

"You're awake?" Wolfram's half-sleeping voice removed Yuuri from his thoughts. That was actually a rare event, Wolfram waking up on his own. Yuuri felt the weight being lifted from his arm and chest and sat on the bed as did his friend.

Wolfram had actually been awake for a long time, well, half awake at least, but felt reluctant to let go of the warmth beside him. It was the middle of a really hot summer, but for some reason that morning felt particularly chilly, and Wolfram didn't deal well with the cold, or rather he just didn't like it.

He rubbed his eyes and looked up to meet Yuuri's eyes.

"Good morning" said Yuuri with a goofy smile. Somehow, no matter how the years had passed and how Yuuri had grown up in many aspects, that goofy trademark smile of his just **would not **go away, not that it bothered Wolfram though.

"Yeah, good morning" Wolfram always wondered how in the world someone could be so happy that early in the morning.

"Last night all the paperwork for the new dam arrived. It's going to take me a century to finish" Yuuri said while taking of his pajama top and searching for his sweats. If he was going to get through the day he needed to start by putting his muscles to work, otherwise his brain would probably explode midway and he was old enough, or to be more precise mature enough, not to just run off in the middle of his work anymore, as much as he might still want to sometimes.

Wolfram, still sitting on the bed with pillow hair and a messy nightgown, took his time to watch the scene in front of him before getting up. He wasn't really paying much attention to the fact of Yuuri undressing, not that it wasn't interesting, he just wasn't in _that _sort of mood. He really wanted to absorb the sight of Yuuri, not that he would ever be able to forget any detail of that face, now that he still had a chance.

He wasn't going to say it out loud, but Yuuri had outgrown him for quite a few inches, or rather he hadn't really grown much on the past eight years. Even though Yuuri was aging like a mazoku, he had gone through some sort of grown spurt while Wolfram, well, not so much.

Even if as a man he might have been a bit jealous, it only made his attraction to Yuuri grow larger. That tanned skin, those black eyes and hair, the mole on his right shoulder and the way the muscles on Yuuri's arm would become more noticeable when he lifted them to put on a shirt. Wolfram knew it all and loved it all, too much for his own sake...

"Wolf... Wolf, are you listening?"

Wolfram eyes widened for a short moment before coming back to their normal state. Normally, he would have gone red up to the ears, being caught positively gawking at Yuuri like that. But somehow he felt the mood inside his heart was way too heavy on his shoulders to let something like that bother him.

"Not really" he answered sheepishly and quite honestly by the way.

"Oh come on! wake up would you?" Yuuri answered with a small laugh. "Wanna come jog with me and Conrad?"

"Sure, why not" Wolfram answered in the same tone while getting up and walking to his own dresser.

To say Yuuri was surprised by that answer would be an understatement. In the over eight years they have known each other Wolfram had never, ever, purposely gone out to exercise with him in the morning. It wasn't that Wolfram wasn't fit or didn't like to exercise, but he had left very clear in more than one occasion that running around the castle in light clothing and then throwing a ball back and forth for an hour wasn't his idea of a decent workout, or even a good hobby.

But in the same way as many other things Yuuri kept on asking, mainly out of habit.

A cold breeze entered to the wide open window and swept through the room making both of them momentarily freeze Even though this summer had been so insanely hot... Something was off, they both knew.

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.oOo.

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The castle was abnormally quiet, had been for a couple of days now, and Yuuri was currently sick and tired of the paperwork piled up to his knees. After a good run, a calming bath and a delicious breakfast he had locked himself up on his office, with all the intention of finishing with it all by lunch time.

Over the years Yuuri had learned to manage with paperwork, his skills were now at the level in which he could handle the whole lot on himself without having to ask for help. Well, at least that was true in matters of content, not always of amount. And the fact that this seemed to be the hottest week in the hottest summer since he had arrived to Shin Makoku, was certainly not helping the paperwork's case. Right around an hour after they woke up the now seemingly gentle cold wave had died out completely.

Summers in Japan were quite hot also, you could say this summer was similar to one of the worst ones he could remember. So it wasn't an unfamiliar heat for Yuuri. The problem was the obvious lack of air conditioning and the several hours sitting in the same position that were teaming up in the mission of frying up his brain cells.

With his jacket already resting on the back of his chair, Yuuri proceeded to loosen up his shirt by unbuttoning the first two buttons and moving his shirt away from his body a couple of times, trying to fan away the heat.

It was certainly strange to compare now, since it had been so long since Yuuri had arrived to this new world and to a kingdom which belonged to him. Now with twenty-four years of age he saw life in a very different manner. He had changed in many ways and in many others remained the same.

Age didn't only help Yuuri with his understanding and managing of the kingdom, but also changed many of his earthen, japanese preconceptions about what life and people should be like. And amongst the things he realized as he grew old was the reality of his engagement with Wolfram. To think only a few hours ago they had bathed together, washed each other's backs so normally and laughed about who knows what so comfortably while doing so.

Letting out a growl of frustration, unable to concentrate on his task because of the heat and his thoughts running wild on their own, Yuuri stood up and left his office, letting now the guards at the doors that he wouldn't be back for a while, he had gotten almost all of his task done so it wasn't a big deal. Having gained Gwendal's trust over the years he could now actually do something like this without having to sneak out and hide to take a break if he wanted to, and surprisingly enough he rarely ever did.

Walking through the gardens a gentle breeze stroke his cheeks and he felt a little better. It wasn't even time for lunch and the heat was nearly unbearable, so Yuuri took refuge in an apple-tree's shadow, near the far left end of the castle's grounds.

Before sitting down to relax for a while Yuuri took an apple, name and taste matched although the fruit looked nothing like apples on earth, and took a bite. Thinking about it, at least from Yuuri's perspective, the only thing about his body that had changed since he came to this world, was his height. He was nowhere near looking at Gwendal of Günter eye to eye, but he could actually give Conrad a run for his money.

It had taken ages for him to grow what on earth would have taken only a couple of years. So at twenty-four he looked barely eighteen, barely.

He sighed looking at the gakuran looking jacket he was going to be using most days of his life, which didn't help at making him feel like he had aged at all. But well, taking the decision to live his life as a mazoku in his coming of age ceremony, hasty as it was on the moment, was a decision that he didn't regret, although he still wasn't used to the idea of living hundreds of years quite yet.

Quitting school, along with his beloved baseball team, had been hard too. But as earth's time started running while he was away his absences became harder and harder to explain, so he was removed from school under the excuse of beginning homeschooling, which he did actually, six years ago.

The thing that really gave him the strength to power through all those changes at the time had been his friend Murata. Even though he could have just come back to this normal life after fulfilling his duty and fixing the forbidden boxes thing, Murata choose to live as a Mazoku and quit school too, saying only that "he might as well".

Foolish as it may sound, that made Yuuri feel he was not alone. Because, even though many people loved him in Shin Makoku, nobody except Murata could really understand what it meant to come from earth, or what he was giving up on by choosing like he did.

Wolfram, in his own wimp-calling way had also been there for him when he had needed him, and like it was the most natural thing, their relation began to change and became the double edged sword it was today.

Yuuri understood quite well how cruel his actions were and, even so, was unable to stop. Completely aware of Wolfram's feeling for him he had tied him with a love that would never be the same as his. Afraid of losing his best friend and one of the most important things in his world, Yuuri had held on to their engagement and let himself feel comfortable receiving Wolfram's affection.

Even if the first couple of years he had done it completely subconsciously, now he knew, he was sure and he had to put a stop to it. Every night he would go to his bedchambers thinking it was time to do what was right, that it was time to set Wolfram free, and being received with warmth and a smile he would lose his determination, over and over again, for who knows how long now.

Even if it was selfish or childish he just didn't know what he would do if he lost his best friend, his undying support through good and bad times. And what tortured him the most was that he had been unable to love Wolfram in the way he deserved, even when he tried, even if he saw the blonde and thought it was one of the more beautiful creatures in both worlds, he could only look with the pride of a brother, or the admiration of a stranger. As much as he wanted, he knew, he had learned, he couldn't choose who to love.

With his mind whirling, Yuuri fell asleep letting a single tear roll down his cheeks and let go of the half eaten apple, which rolled away and hit the brown boot of the man who had been secretly watching him for a while now.

"Yuuri..." emerald eyes looked away with a pained expression.

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...oOo...

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When night fell and after double checking his work and sending out a few letters, Yuuri headed to his and Wolfram shared room.

The day had been particularly calm in terms of the blond, they hadn't as much as glare at each other once, which was the replacement of the chasing and yelling when they grew older. Instead they had laughed and talked quite a lot actually, much more than most days, which lead Yuuri to think Wolfram had probably skipped training and some other duties, that was very off character actually.

With that thought in mind Yuuri opened passed through the doorway and found the room to be empty. He was sure he saw Wolfram walking in this direction just a while ago, so where was he?

Suddenly a soft, sweet melody reached his ears. Careful not to make any noise, as to not scare off a bird singing in your window, Yuuri walked to the source of the sound. There, in the balcony, was Wolfram, already in his nightgown, humming what sounded like a beautiful lullaby. With his gaze lost somewhere beyond the stars and his blond locks swaying with the breeze.

It was quite the sight, for Yuuri, after years of knowing Wolfram, quite a sad sight.

"You'll catch a cold" Yuuri said softly, slowly and lovingly, careful not to startle him.

Wolfram didn't look away from the imaginary spot in his sight and only answered "With this heat?"

Yuuri smiled and choke a small chuckle before putting a hand in Wolfram's cold shoulder and saying "Come on, let's get inside" slightly tightening his grip as to make a point.

Yuuri felt a strange knot forming in his stomach. It was this sort of interaction that were the most cruel, right? He knew it, he knew what he was doing, so why wasn't he strong enough to stop?

Wolfram walked to the bed and sat on his side, somehow reluctant to get his feet off the ground, trying to find the strength to keep himself grounded, even if just literally.

Yuuri quickly put on his pajamas and did the same, although for different reasons.

"Say, Yuuri..." Wolfram's voice echoed in the room as all the candles were extinguished by a sudden breeze, or maybe Wolfram himself had done it. In any case, Yuuri might as well not noticed the change in lighting entirely, Wolfram's voice had only let him with enough will to keep his ears working. Somehow Yuuri knew, this tone, could only mean one thing.

"Mmh...?" he forced himself to mutter after realizing Wolfram wouldn't continue on talking unless he answered something.

"I have been thinking..." Wolfram's voice was shaking a little, even though he was putting everything he had in the effort of avoiding it. Even though they were on opposite sides of the bed and not looking at each other, Yuuri knew exactly what sort of expression was surely on his friend's face, and it tore him apart.

In some sort of unconscious attempt to comfort both himself and Wolfram, Yuuri lifted his feet from the ground and sat closer to his friend, almost at the middle of the bed, although still with his back to Wolfram.

This sudden movement startled the blond, whose nerves were already in overdrive, but at the same time it made him smile, how Yuuri in his own way wanted to still be close to him, even if he knew this was probably the end, to be honest, it was what he wanted too. So he did the same.

And there they sat, back to back, the back of his head slightly touching Yuuri's back and neck

The familiar warmth eased both of them, and gave Wolfram his determination back.

"I think I will leave for a while, to my family's land" he said, his voice much calmer, but for the same reason much noticeably sad.

Yuuri's stomach sank and too many words piled up on his tongue, so many that none was actually able to come out. Guilt, sadness, relief, anger towards himself; they all danced on his stomach at a rhythm that almost made him feel sick.

"Wolf, I... without you I... I'm so sorry..." he stuttered trying to figure out a way to speak that made any sense at all.

"I know" Wolfram interrupted him, to which Yuuri gave a little jump. Wolfram's words were so calm, even if sad they weren't angry or bitter. Like the voice of someone with no regrets.

"Don't be too much of a wimp while I'm gone" he said and Yuuri let out a small laugh in between what had become a silent trail of tears running down his cheeks.

"You know how much you mean to me, right?" he said with a broken, but happy tone, because as sad as he was, he just couldn't help but to smile, a sad, sad smile they shared for one last time that night.

"Yeah, I know" Wolfram answered as the tears started flowing out on their own.

Yuuri threw his head back just a little, so that they would be touching, the involuntary movement made by both of them while silently sobbing were strangely in sync.

"I'll come back... one day"

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Hi guys, as you can see I've decided to continue this story after all. About the plot, I HAVE NO IDEA, really... It'll just grow on its own for a while. I have a few ideas, but everything can change, your ideas are most welcome too! For this reason the pairings, or actually the fact of some of the pairings being one-sided can and will probably change. So if you don't like MuraYuu, I don't know if you'll enjoy this story.

Also, even though my main character is Ken, he's nowhere to be found on this chapter! Sorry about that, but some chapters will probably centered in other characters too, if I keep on with the (vague) idea I have thus far at least.

It's my first time writing under this approach and really want to know what you think so please, don't forget to leave a review! :D


	3. Mirror

_WARNING:_One sided: WolfYuu, ShinMura and MuraYuu. We'll see how this changes in time. Rating also may change. This story is not revised, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated.

_Re-posted to correct a few things._

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**_Mirror_**

That morning Yuuri woke up feeling something was wrong, something was missing. Stretching to his left and finding an open way he realized the situation he was in, as the memories from last night flooded his mind and the last trace of drowsiness was ripped out of him as if hit by a baseball bat.

Wolfram was already gone.

Yuuri sat up and looked out the window. Judging by the temperature and the light outside it was nearly six am, probably earlier. If Wolf wasn't next to him on their bed this early it meant the blond had left as soon as he fell asleep.

Only god knew when would be the next time he'd see his best friend and he was as sad as he'd ever imagined he'd be. But he had nothing to regret about the night before, you might think he would have wanted to directly say goodbye, or maybe take a last look at his friend's face, but all that was just unnecessary formalities.

With a real friend there's never a goodbye that lasts forever.

With someone you really care about, someone who really knows you, words are not necessary.

He knew that, deep in his heart, he believed that, then why, why on earth did he feel his heart was about to break in half?

Tears started falling from his already reddened and swollen eyes. Last night he had cried a lot, yes, but silently, smiling, feeling the warmth of Wolfram's back touching his; now he was alone, and he could let his desperation show.

All of his feelings of guilt, anger and frustration emerged at once. Why hadn't he been able to love someone so wonderful like he had always deserved? How did he allow himself to hurt him so deeply? To keep him by his side? Well, now he had probably lost his best friend for good because of the way he acted.

Hiccuping and sobbing with sadness, but mostly out of anger, Yuuri could actually feel his disturbed emotions as if they were flooding out of him. He let out a groan and hit the bed with his fist.

It was only when the remainings of the former royal bed hit the ground that Yuuri realized what he was doing. His tears suddenly stopped, he took a step back and restrained his marioku.

"Shit"

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...oOo...

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"Good morning Heika" said Conrart once he caught sight of his godson, who was running like there was no tomorrow. "May I join you?" he asked.

Yuuri turned around to answer, although Conrart was already running next to him, not really waiting for an answer.

"Sure, Conrad" Conrart took instant notice of the state of his king. Yuuri was pale, probably from lack of sleep, and his eyelids were quite swollen. Also, the fact that he didn't scolded him for calling him heika was something to be worried about.

Conrart knew that his little brother had left. Wolfram was, above all, a good soldier to the kingdom, and hadn't left without taking care of the official paperwork concerning the suspension of his patrol duties on the king's lands, and such.

Also, as a brother, he had a bit more insight about the subject, of course. He honestly had no resentment towards his godson, but he was aware of the amount of damage he had done. He understood the reasons and knew most of the harm had been done unintentionally. He also knew how much Yuuri was suffering right now, and even if the pain was different, he felt equally worried about both boys.

Now, that left a question, if Yuuri had been to his office yet, or not...

"Heika, have you finished the paperwork for me to take with me to the construction site?" he asked, trying to disguise his real reasons, or his knowledge of the situation.

"Oh, yeah..." Yuuri answered, as if woken up from a dream, he had no idea how long he had been running and his feet just kept on going in autopilot whether he was aware of it or not. "I haven't written the letter to the construction manager yet though, I know I probably should have it ready, sorry Conrad, I just didn't feel like working this morning" he added and slowed his pace.

Okay, Yuuri hadn't been to the office yet, so he hadn't seen _it. _It wasn't that Conrart wanted Yuuri to suffer further more, but he had hoped his king would come across _it_before he had to leave to the Spitzberg lands, where the dam was being built.

This dam was a big step on the Maou's plan, with a lot of the Sage's help, to implement some new sources of irrigation to the dying plantations of the land, suffering because of the merciless heat that lashed the country. So it was not something to be postponed or messed with, reason why Conrart was to stay in the site through the whole duration of the project to ensure Stoffel stayed out of it. And his departure was scheduled for that morning.

With him leaving, his mother sailing the seas only Shinou knows where along with Anissina and Günter away on his now biennial excursion to the furthest lands of the kingdom, Yuuri was about to face some really tough times alone, not to mention Greta wasn't going to be visiting from Zorachia in a few months at least.

"I'll go get it ready so you can leave, otherwise you won't reach the next town before the heat reaches its peak" Yuuri said, already taking the first few steps towards his office.

"Yuuri" Conrart said loudly, making his godson stop on his tracks and look back. Once he had his attention he smiled, much like he always did, but with no little concern on his face.

"He will be okay" he said, startling Yuuri who, until that point hadn't imagined anyone else knew about the matter. But somehow, as it always did, his godfather's smile managed to soothe him.

"And so will you" Conrart added, again to Yuuri's surprise. He felt like the tears were threatening to come back so he smiled, sadly, but honestly.

"I hope you're right"

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...oOo...

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"Geika, you can't find him either, can you?" The childish voice asked with a half annoyed, half concerned tone. Who would have thought this kind of trouble would come along with being the Genshi Miko, really.

"I'm sorry Ulrike, he seems to have vanished" Ken's expression was particularly hard to read at the moment he spoke. A mixture of feelings that were coming to a boiling point inside of him made it almost impossible. Ulrike thought it wiser to let the subject go and stayed in silence.

"I'm going to the Castle" he said, and without another word, he was gone.

Ulrike was left alone on the room, her eyes directed at the waterfall on the wall. Being a priestess on the Original King's Shrine was an honor, hers was probably the ultimate honor, and she was thankful, from the bottom of her heart, as she had seen how Shinou Heika had ensured the well-being of the country through the words he had given her through the years.

Hearing his words was, had always been a gift, a blessing, but lately...

"I can't believe those two..." she whispered to herself hearing the footsteps of the Daikenja fading away.

Ken was not the kind of person who lets a lady talking to herself, but he was just not in the mood right now. After that night a week ago Shinou had completely disappeared. Not only had he stopped taking a material form, but his energy was nowhere to be found and he hadn't spoke to any of the priestesses either.

"That selfish jackass" Murata growled while passing through the shrine's doors in his brown stallion, earning a few odd looks from the priestess guarding it. He just rolled his eyes and kept going, but only a few feet away Ken started to reconsider his plans for the evening.

Realistically speaking, riding to the castle in this heat might not have been the best of ideas... But he was in no mood for changing his mind. Even if he died of heat exhaustion, hardly possible, he was going to get the hell away from that stupid, selfish and childish king's shine.

It took a few pit stops to rest in the shade of this or that tree, but Ken kept on going. The short ride to the castle had become an absolute torture under the ruthless heat and as he got closer and closer to his goal, his anger slowly shifted and turned inside of him, resembling sadness more and more as time passed by.

Was Shinou really gone this time for good? Was that what he meant that night? If that was right, what was he going to do?

Without realizing it, Ken was already in front of the castle wall and was being let inside by the guards. He shook his head, trying to push away the thoughts that had him so uncharacteristically disturbed.

After leaving his horse on the stables and greeting a few passing maids and soldiers, Ken made his way to the far left end of the castle courtyard. His feet moving practically on his own, looking for a familiar place of his borrowed memories.

Knowing he was nearing _that _place he was about to drop the act and let his false smile become a very different expression when he saw him, under _that _specific tree, of all trees. There was Shibuya.

Ken stopped walking, moving, and probably even breathing for a moment. He stood there, still far enough for his presence not to be noticed, but close enough to see the scene clearly, and for a moment considered running away, not for a specific reason, he just felt like running.

However, as he was about to do so, he noticed the parchment in Yuuri's hand, more specifically, the color of said parchment. There was only one reason Shibuya could be holding a navy blue parchment.

Realizing this, Ken hurriedly shifted his attention to Shibuya's face. The expression on his face broke Ken's heart twice before he was able to completely process the scene. Shibuya's eyes showed a mix of angst and surrender that Ken had never seen on him before. For Shinou's sake he looked close to tears! Looking more closely, judging by the slightly swollen on his eyelids he had probably cried his eyes out the night before.

That was probably Ken's exit signal right there. However, he soon realized he had made a very stupid tactical error. Trying to see Yuuri's face more clearly, he had unintentionally come too close, now there was no way of making a clean exit. So Ken chose the next best thing, playing dumb.

"Yo! Shibuya" he said walking to his friend like there was nothing wrong in the world.

"Murata! How... How long have you been here?" Yuuri asked trying to hide his face, half aware of the ragged aspect he probably had.

"Just got here, why?" Ken asked back quite playfully, smiling like he always did while playing dumb with Shibuya. It was something he had become used to with time. After all, he had been pretending for three years now and he felt quite confident of his acting skills, not that it was something to be particularly proud of in this case.

"Nothing. So, what brings you here?Trouble in girl paradise?" Yuuri asked, just for the sake of shifting the attention away from himself. Murata was quite the player and Yuuri had an idea of how he probably enjoyed the constant passing by of beautiful shrine maidens. Although he also had the suspicion that his glasses friend had quite the good time with the Original King, but he rathered not think too much about that, it was none of his business anyway.

"Well, you can only just watch up to a certain point before becoming bored, you know?" Ken replied, playing along with Yuuri and trying his best to live up to his pretty ladies lover facade. Well, being completely honest he did loved the ladies, he just happened to be torn between two obvious males in terms of the heart, and they weren't at all unpleasant to the eye either... But he was obviously just rambling inside his head, and he had to stop before it showed in his face. Shibuya was already giving him an odd look.

"You perv" he said, mistaking Ken's expression for something else, and they both laughed. He was probably, in deed, a perv. Shibuya had **no **idea.

"Are you staying for dinner? Nobody is here anyway" Yuuri asked. Actually Gwendal was still in the castle, but everyone would agree his presence wasn't really noticeable, unless you count the sound of knitting needles clashing together, he didn't make much noise.

If Ken wasn't mistaken, and even though he rarely was he would often find himself mistaken when it came to Shibuya lately, Ken thought he heard a bit of a plea for company in that question. If that was the case, quite probably considering the parchment, he was more than happy to oblige. Besides, he wanted to get the hell away from the shrine for a while anyways.

"I was thinking of staying for a few days actually. Is not often you get some peace a quiet around here" Ken answered casually while stretching his sore muscles from the ride.

"Oh, sure. I'll have the maids put you in a room near mine" Yuuri replied just as casually. He was relieved somebody would be there with him. He needed some time on his own to think things through, but he was sure he'd go insane if left alone for too long in that enormous empty castle.

Ken's heart, on the other hand, had just skipped a beat. He knew Shibuya probably meant nothing by it, but for some reason he felt so incredibly flustered by the fact of Yuuri wanting him in a room close by. He felt like mentally slapping himself for being so trivial, wasn't he just suffering about the situation with Shinou?

And talking about serious issues...

"Hey, is that...?" Ken asked, trying to sound vague enough, but clearly looking at the parchment in Shibuya's hands.

"Yeah..." Yuuri said, noticing he had completely failed at hiding the thing, but not finding enough strength to care. "He left it in my office before he left" he added and looked down.

"Oh..." was all Ken was capable of saying. Wolfram had _left._

Navy blue parchment were used in the nobility only for one reason. It was some old tradition that started because of a specific event Ken knew about first hand, although that was another story. In short, it was used in official documents concerning the termination of engagements or marriages. Both parties had to sign for it to be official and Ken saw only one signature on it. Wolfram's signature.

They stood still for a really long couple of minutes. Yuuri was completely emerged in his thoughts, aware that not signing the document was only postponing the inevitable.

Meanwhile Ken was having an internal moral battle. He was seriously debating his options. There were two choices. The first, and probably the most wise, was to stay on his well-known role of the matchmaker and give Shibuya the push he needed to realize his feelings for Wolfram were probably more than those of just friendship if he was this heartbroken about it. Knowing Wolfram he would take the idiot back if he went to look for him.

Now, the more daring and attractive choice was to take advantage of the situation. But even though the thought was appealing and he trusted his manipulation skills, with Shibuya he had absolutely no self-confidence in this aspect. And even if he had some, he was just too depressed to even try.

Both soukoku, lost in their own thoughts, sighed quite loudly at the same time, snapping the other out of their respective stupor.

Looking at each other they couldn't help but to chuckle, up to some level unaware of how similar their situation was, in more ways than one.

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I'm on a roll with this story, yesterday I was taking notes in one of my classes and before I knew it I had written half a chapter. I'd feel like a bad student but it was just such a boring lecture...

Anyways! Thank you so much to those who read and reviewed the first two chapters. Honestly I was expecting little to no reaction with this fic, especially from those who usually read my Yuuram fics.

This chapter is not really good in my opinion, but it was necessary and I hope you won't mind.

Let me know what you think, any questions, constructive criticism or plot ideas are more than welcome.


	4. Mockingbird

_WARNING__:_ One sided: WolfYuu, ShinMura and MuraYuu. We'll see how this changes in time. Rating also may change. This story is not revised, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated.

_Re-posted to correct a few things._

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_ Mockingbird _

Ken was sitting in what was going to be his temporal bed for the following weeks, or months, who knew. Deep inside his heart he was conflicted about ever coming back to live at the Shrine.

Speaking from tradition and costume, he, as the Maou's advisor and strategist, was supposed to live at Blood Pledge Castle all along, but things just happened in a certain way and he ended up on the Shrine. Although saying that his personal desires weren't a factor on his dwelling situation in the beginning would be a lie.

Ken wondered what Shibuya's thoughts were about all of this, his sudden apparition just when Wolfram had left. He might have been a little goofy for many things still, but with time Shibuya had learned quite a few things, some even from him, something Ken regretted a little sometimes.

Being able to lie, to act in a certain diplomatic way or to read other people's face expressions are vital aspects or politics, true; but Shibuya learning all of that meant Ken couldn't let his guard down. He didn't want to end up like Wolfram once Shibuya realized his feelings.

He knew the obvious differences between both cases, the main one being Ken firmly believed Shibuya actually _had_ feeling for Wolfram and was just too set on his earthen ways to admit he could fall for someone of the same sex. That also affected him, being a man too, but well...

Aside from the differences he knew his friend too well to know that if he ever found out about his feelings he wouldn't want to hurt him, and of course he wouldn't want to lose him, but he could also never return them, even if Ken never dared to dream of something like that, even if he was fine just staying beside him as a friend, things would never be the same.

He sighed quite heavily and looked down to his own chest. He was wearing one of Shibuya's pajamas he borrowed since he hadn't really planned on staying, or planned at all, when he had ridden to the Castle that day.

He felt downright pathetic. This was just so not like him.

A sudden knock on the door took his attention elsewhere and figuring it was probably one of the maids bringing him a nightgown, that he would absolutely refuse to wear, he said to come in without a second thought. However the person who walked in wasn't who he had expected.

"Hi there, finding the room comfortable?" Yuuri said playfully, trying to sound like a butler to mock Murata who hadn't even turned around to look at the door.

"Well yes, in fact I am" Ken replied playing along and putting on a smug face. "Although we could really use some ac in this place don't you think?" he added dropping the act and standing up. He tried to ease the heat by separating the fabric of the pajama top from his chest. Frankly, if he was back in the shrine he would just sleep nude.

"Yeah I know, but don't mention it to Anissina" Yuuri said, remembering the results of the last time someone had talked about earthen technology with the crazy redhead.

"And tell me, to what do I owe the honor?" Ken asked sitting back down on the bed, but on the other side, looking in Shibuya's direction and noticing he hadn't taken his hands off his back since he entered. He gave him a suspicious look to which Shibuya answered with a goofy smile.

"Well you see... I kinda broke my bed today" he said looking down and to the side, like a small child who was just caught doing something he knew he shouldn't.

Ken broke into a fit of laughter, while his friend turned three shades of red. Once he was able to calm down he asked "How the hell did you managed to do that?"

"Well... I know I'm supposed to be over this kind of thing by now... and it hadn't happened in almost two years! But you see, I was angry... and anyways when I realized what I was doing I held back my marioku but the bed was already broken" Yuuri stuttered while Murata kept on laughing to his heart's content.

He was a bit embarrassed, yes. But come on! He had only been aware of his marioku for less than ten years, normally in that amount of time you don't learn to control even half of it and he had really improved in the past couple of years. Besides, he had a good reason to be upset at the time...

"So that's what happened. I was wondering about the gossips I heard before dinner. The maids have a whole different story, let me tell you" In deed, there were several theories as to how the royal chambers had been _trashed_, although Ken didn't know that by that the maids meant actually breaking a solid mahogany bed, quite the accomplishment if it had happened in the way most of the girls rathered believe, a very M rated way.

Yuuri groaned and rolled his eyes, picturing a very close version to what the gossip actually was. People really had no tact.

"Whatever, I'm staying here tonight. Look!" Yuuri said, his face glowing with excitement when he finally took his hands from behind him and revealed a fairly tall stack of magazines.

At first Ken didn't really understood what that would be so exciting, but taking a closer look his face also lit up for a second.

"Shounen Jump*!? How did you got them here?" he asked.

Yuuri smiled and felt overjoyed he had managed to actually surprise the oh so wise Great Sage. Having someone like Murata as a friend could sometimes be exasperating, never being able to hide anything from him and being completely stripped with a single look.

"I got Shouri to send them to me. I'm not really sure how far ahead is the actual publication, but I hadn't had time to read anything anyway"

Yuuri had never been much a manga fanatic to tell the truth, but he learned that sometimes, when you're away from your homeland for long enough, you start to miss the most unexpected things.

Taking each a different copy to read while sitting on the bed, somehow they were both suddenly filled with the same nostalgic feeling. Was it really true that there was a time in which things were always so fun and simple? It seemed so distant somehow.

"You know" Ken said after suddenly realizing something "It's not like we can get a futon for you like back home". His tone was a bit mocking and inviting, he wanted to see how Shibuya would react, hiding behind the joke, of course.

"Oh I'm fine sharing the bed" he answered not taking his eyes off the magazine.

To say Ken was shocked would be an understatement. His eyes flew so wide open that his glasses rolled a little down his nose. Thank goodness Shibuya wasn't looking, or so he thought.

"Wait... I mean... the bed is really big and... eh..." Yuuri started freaking out once his own words echoed inside his head and he caught a glimpse of Murata's expression. When had he become so weird? He was just so used to sharing a bed with another guy that he didn't gave it a second thought before answering. He knew Murata was just kidding with that inviting tone, but maybe now it seemed like he took it seriously and he so did not!

Ken just smiled for himself, following Shibuya's trail of thought, so evident in his changing expression, just a bit hurt by the obvious rejection to the idea in Shibuya's mind.

"Don't worry about it" The bed _was_ big, after all.

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...oOo...

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Silence fell upon the castle after the laughter on one of the rooms on the Maou's wing slowly died down.

Two uncomfortable japanese guys lay awake on the two opposite sides of the bed, making a point of staying as close to their respective edges as possible without actually falling to the floor.

They had been like that for about an hour and were both convinced the other one ought to be sleeping by now.

Yuuri felt a slight change in the weight distribution on the bed and realized Murata had turned in his sleep in his direction. The almost silent turn was so very different to the olympic flips he was used to that it almost made him chuckle, but he didn't want to wake his bedmate.

He was actually really tired, he had hardly gotten any sleep the night before and had been running around the castle the entire morning to try and get his head out of his problems.

And yet he still couldn't sleep.

Yuuri could hear Murata's even breathing almost synchronized with his from behind his back and found himself wondering how did the glasses guy** looked when he slept. It wasn't the first time he slept close to him, but it was the first time that they did it in the same bed.

Thinking about it, probably because this wasn't the _Maou__'__s__bed_, even though it was big, it was quite smaller than the one on his room, so when Murata turned he wound up fairly close, enough to just roll over and take a quick glance without much fuss. But he couldn't get his curiosity get the best of him, he didn't want to disturb Murata's sleep.

He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he had noticed his friend was acting strange, different from his usual self; and Yuuri was worried, specially knowing how Murata was completely incapable of asking for help or letting himself be weak in front of others. He wished Murata would share some of that enormous weight he always seemed to carry with him, they were friends after all.

It was actually a very rare thing to see Murata visiting the castle just for no reason, and above that staying. Usually, when he had a fight with Shinou, he would visit, complain a little about his babysitting duties and play some pranks on people, probably to feel better himself. But he would always come back after.

Up to a certain point Yuuri was sure there was something going on between those two. He just didn't know how far can you take a relationship when one of the parties is dead. Because of that he had always felt a little bad for his friend, if he was right and Murata had feelings for Shinou he couldn't imagine it being a simple relationship, he probably suffered quite a bit.

Maybe it was because of his already upset emotional state, but when he imagined how it would be to love someone that's not really there, someone you can't really touch, he felt like crying right there.

Ken had been admiring the sight of Shibuya's back for a while now and found it surprisingly relaxing to just look how his body would go slightly up and down with every breath.

He figured Shibuya was probably exhausted, his face that day was marked by the lack of sleep and he guessed he probably lost said sleep crying, which is far more exhausting that it seems. With that in mind he wondered when exactly had he last cried, he wasn't sure anymore.

Crying wasn't something easy for the Sage. It wasn't that he didn't particularly liked it or that he thought it wasn't manly or something of the sort, he just couldn't do it as easily as most people. Not for lack of motives, by the way.

Right now his heart as well as his mind were torn around the decisions he'd soon have to make. Ken had always been a man of reason and relied on his intellect to direct his life, but right now, for the first time since he could remember, he felt lost.

Putting aside his knowledge and all of his borrowed memories, he was only a twenty-four year old man, nothing less and nothing more, and he couldn't control his heart or to whom it turned to, all he could control were his actions, and he wasn't sure he had the will anymore.

Was he ready to put himself through the life of a martyr? Was that even necessary?

All of those years, all of those lives, lived only with a single purpose, weighed heavily on his shoulders now that his goal had finally been achieved. Because aside from the determination and guilt that followed him because of his objective, that overwhelming desire to come back to that man's side had never, not once, flickered inside of the Daikenja's heart.

He was so confused he felt like screaming. With the man of his memories always inside him and Shibuya right in front of him, both so unreachable, no matter what he did. He felt so lost, so heavily and utterly lost.

Suddenly a sweet but quite loud noise coming from the window made Ken snap, he was trying so hard not to let his emotions show in his body so as to not wake up Shibuya that he was actually very tense, and the sound came so suddenly he actually jumped and found himself sitting on the bed before he could ever know what the sound was.

"Wh...?" Yuuri asked a bit drowsily, he wasn't really sleeping, but he was so lost in thought he didn't even hear the sound and only felt how someone suddenly jumped beside him.

"I... it's a mockingbird, in the desk" Ken said, completely astonished by the sight of the small bird who had actually entered the room through the window and was looking right at them while singing happily.

"What the hell?" Yuuri sat up too and rubbed his eyes a couple of times. He thought Murata was probably half asleep and had just imagined it, but when the bird sang he realized it was true. There it was, clearly visible under the moonlight. "Aren't they supposed to be day birds?"

"Yes" Ken said recovering his usual manner of speaking and putting on his glasses that were resting in his nightstand. "Here it's said that if a mockingbird sings at night it's a bad omen" he added while fixing his hair a little.

Yuuri felt something sink in his stomach.

"But it is also said that if one enters your bedroom something in your life is soon going to change for the better" Ken remembered hearing that when he was the Daikenja actually.

"So... which one do you think this is?" Yuuri asked, turning around to see his friend's expression, somehow he felt Murata was feeling the same unpleasant feeling he was.

"I don't know."

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* Shounen Jump is a Japanese weekly manga magazine, centered on the Shounen genre.

** In the manga and the novel, Yuuri refers to Murata as something like Glasses-kun when they just met, and I've always liked it and found it difficult to translate to english, he says it with good intentions though, not with mockery.

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Another chapter in record time. I actually had some free time because of the student movement. We're currently back on strike, although I don't know if this one will last, considering the seven months the last one lasted. [ For more information google Chilean student movement ;) ]

Things still look dark and depressing for our beloved characters... next chapter I'm thinking of maybe letting you know how Wolf is doing back on the Bielefeld's lands, what do you think?


	5. Sunflower

**WARNING:** One sided: WolfYuu, ShinMura and MuraYuu. We'll see how this changes in time. Rating also may change. This story is not revised, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated.

_Re-posted to correct a few things._

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Sunflower

Elizabeth had stayed on the Bielefeld castle for over a week and had put the task of cheering up his cousin upon herself. Deep down she always thought Yuuri was, in fact, in love with Wolfram, how things had end up like they had, she didn't know.

All she knew is that Wolfram was coming back home and leaving the royal castle, maybe for good. She was puzzled about what to do in the future, if pursuing her feelings for Wolfram was maybe an option now was something she had to figure out with time. For the time being, she would act only as the friend Wolfram was in very much need of.

The picture was frankly depressing, but for all the wrong reasons. Somehow, when Elizabeth found out the news through her uncle, she guessed she would find Wolfram either devastated and torn to shreds, or he would have burned down all the castle's drapery by the time she arrived. Alas, Wolfram was calm, unusually calm, scary calm. He used his time staring out through random windows, reading in the garden with no real interest in his eyes.

Was it actually possible that the Maou had extinguished Wolfram's fire? Elizabeth was always so sure that was an impossible task, how much had he suffer?

Worst thing was, she couldn't bring herself to hate Yuuri, not entirely, not truly. And if she couldn't, she could only imagine how much it would take Wolfram to stop loving him, maybe he would never be able to.

Very much against her personality, Elizabeth had decided not to force Wolfram, she wouldn't ask what had happened, she wouldn't pester him to do any sort of activity that could cheer him up, because she knew it would be in vain at the end. She had gone through something similar giving up on Wolfram herself. Although looking at it now she realized Wolfram was more in love than she ever was.

Instead she sat by his side, reading when he read, knitting when he just stared into space. Sometimes bringing him something to drink, sometimes letting him know that they were probably expected for lunch or dinner soon. She knew there were no words in existence to lighten his cousin's pain, so she just stood by his side quietly.

It seemed to be well received, since Wolfram never asked her to leave, but she could count with her fingers how many words they had actually exchanged.

That morning Wolfram was awfully quiet, saying he had said one word all day would probably be exaggerating, Elizabeth was starting to think she'll soon forget his voice.

They were sitting in one of the studies, she was working on an embroidery of a sunflower in a large chair by the window and Wolfram was actually sitting on the windowsill, looking far away absentminded. There was still a good couple of hours before dinner, so she was completely lost in her task and in her thoughts. Then, something unexpected happened.

"Say, Elizabeth" Wolfram's voice reached her ears as if it were a mirage, she jumped inside of her skin, but didn't let it show, instead she just looked up with a smile and said only "Hm?"

"Do you remember the legend about the birth of this sun?" he asked, still with his gaze lost on the horizon.

Elizabeth searched her memories thoroughly and remember there were both once told that story many, many years ago by Wolfram's father, or was it his uncle? She didn't actually remember it clearly, much less the content of the story.

"Not really" She answered with an inviting tone, not letting herself sound too eager, but she was desperate to hear Wolfram's voice, even if he was just going to tell a boring old story.

"Well, you see..."

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...oOo...

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_Deep in the forest of our lands, people tell a story, one that has gone from father to son for now thousands of years, even before the time of the Great One._

_There was once a god who lived among the mazoku and he was the sun. Every morning he would awake and walk the land. Known and loved by every man, woman and child, he was a beautiful young man with hair golden as the sun and eyes as clear and changing as the sky._

_He was also fair and kind, he had never once defied his destiny. Because, even though he was a god, there was one thing he had to sacrifice in order to come live in the land, with the people that he loved. To maintain his pact, he was forbidden by the skies to ever go out after night fell._

_One day, when he was finishing his daily walk, he took a strange path that led him deep into the forest. Worried, watching the sun slowly fade into the horizon he hurried his pace and hoped he could make it in time._

_Walking aimlessly he ran into a large lake, going around it would take hours so he thought the best strategy was to simply go back on his tracks. When he was about to do so he saw an unknown reflection on the waters. The sun was still out, but he had never actually been out this late, so he only knew about what he saw through the mouth of his people._

_It was the moon._

_There, in the middle of the lake stood a woman. Her skin was dark as the night and her hair was silvery white and it sparkled like nothing he had ever seen. Her eyes were so deep, of a beautiful violet color he had never seen, and they glisten like diamonds, no, even more._

_Only one look and he had felt deeply, desperately in love._

_Then he saw the shadow getting near him, it was almost night. He turned back and ran, ran with all his might. Just before the last ray of sunlight disappeared, he reached his home._

_It was a sleepless night for the sun, followed by days of absent-mindedly walking the land and more sleepless nights. He didn't actually knew the reason he was forbidden to step outside or even look through the window at night, but he had always thought it was worth the sacrifice to be able to live amongst his people._

_But now..._

_His mind was filled with images of the beautiful woman he had only seen once. He craved, he needed more._

_His mind raced and his heart pulled him back to the lake, but he didn't want to be forced to leave the land, so he restrained himself, to the cost of his own suffering._

_The months that followed people saw the change in the god and days started to get shorter, the sunlight was colder and colder as time passed, and the found themselves unable to do anything to easy the god's pain._

_One day, when he was making his daily walk he saw a little girl run into the forest. She was so little and looked lost, so he followed her, to at least light her way, since there really wasn't much else he could do, he wasn't suppose to interfere further in people's lives._

_However, as hours passed he found himself worried, the girl just kept on running and running with no clear goal in mind or direction to follow. He wanted so much to be able to help that he followed her deep into the forest and found himself to be lost also._

_The moment it took him to realize that, the girl had gone out of sight._

_He tried to get back on his tracks, but then a sweet, oh so sweet sound reached his ears. He hadn't heard the Moon's voice before, but somehow he just knew, it was her._

_As if seduced by a mermaid he walked in the direction of the beautiful sound and before he knew it he was once again at the lake, and the sun was setting._

_When the woman noticed his presence she smiled and locked her eyes with his. But then realization came to her, she saw the sky and the already dying signs of day. It was even later than last time. She uttered no sound, but instead pleaded with her eyes for the sun to run once more._

_He thought about it for a moment, or at least tried to, but found himself unable to join the thoughts coherently. The Moon was so endlessly beautiful, so magic, so enchanting, her white long dress fell onto the water and formed a big circle around her. Her soft curves and delicate features._

_Before he knew it he was walking in her direction, stepping surely on the water. The Moon stood there unable to move. She looked at the sky over and over again and then back to the Sun, she gestured for him to go, to run, but was unable to utter a sound._

_With the last rays of sunlight reflecting into the lake he reached her and didn't wait to embrace her in his arms. They were joined in a deep kiss, so sweet, so passionate, so filled with love the earth shook._

_But then the Sun felt water on his face, the Moon was crying. Before he could think to ask or to say anything the day finally died, and the sky turned black._

_It was only a split second before he sunk deep into the lake, catching only a fleeting glance of the woman he loved yelling his name and holding out her hand to him, but it was too late._

_With the day gone he was no longer a reflection on the water, he was just a man standing in the middle of a deep lake._

_The moon cried and cried for him to return to her side, but to no avail._

_That night, the sun had died._

_Two weeks past with no sun, endless night and endless rain fell into the land as the moon mourned his beloved._

_Although the people of the land felt for the moon and her lost in the same way the themselves missed the young Sun, soon they started to feel despair, what were they going to do if the sun never came out again? What would it be of their crops?_

_But when all hope was starting to fade a foreign and pregnant woman came into a village seeking refuge, a world of endless night was a dangerous place, so she was well received and the following night she had given birth to a healthy boy._

_Hours passed and day came, only this time, after almost a month, the sun came out again._

_When some of the villagers went to find the foreign woman she had disappeared and left her son behind._

_Now, in the light of day the villagers were able to notice, the boy had golden hair and eyes as clear as the sky. A new sun had been born._

_Ever since then it is said that the moon comes down every night just before the last ray of sunlight dies out, to be reflected on that lake where the soul of the old sun rests, merged with the water._

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...oOo...

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Elizabeth had listened intently, moved by Wolfram's words she had almost cried. She couldn't believe how great her cousin was at telling stories, but she was left to wonder what the hell did this story had to do with Wolfram's current predicament.

She had expected it to turn into some sort of metaphor for his feelings along the way, but if that was in fact the case, she had no clue as to how.

"What made you remember that story?" She asked, noticing the sun was setting outside the window.

"I just... I remember how shocked I was when I first hear that legend. I couldn't believe that a god could actually die"

Well, now Elizabeth was really lost, but Wolfram seemed to be opening up, so she let herself ask.

"Wolfram, what happened at Blood Pledge Castle? Why did you decided now to leave the Maou's side when you could have done it so many times before?"

There was an awkward silence after the question, but Elizabeth let Wolfram sort his feelings at ease before answering, she didn't want to push.

"It was Shinou" He finally said. The answer in itself actually said nothing at all, he knew, but he wasn't sure how much of the information he could let out. In any case, he was tired of sitting around thinking, it just wasn't like him, and there was so much he needed to get off his chest.

Elizabeth knew about the presence of the Great One back in the capital, although it was a secret to most people, she had even seen him once or twice whilst visiting Blood Pledge Castle, so that wasn't a surprise.

She did gasp though, because being an intelligent woman as she was, she soon connected the dots to Shinou to the legend.

"But I thought..." She trailed off. Wasn't the Original King immortal? His spirit that is.

"I suppose even gods can die if that is their will" he said looking at the last rays of sunlight, the sky turning purple.

"I am not aware of Shinou's personal reasons, but I do know one thing. For now over eight years this country has been following after two different suns, and now, it is time for Yuuri to take the place that he has himself earned, leading our people alone" Wolfram said, actually smiling proudly.

Elizabeth was starting to see where this was going and she didn't really liked it one bit.

"So you left him? Why?" She asked, more concerned that anything else, but the rose of her tone didn't disturb Wolfram, he understood her reaction. He was a bit worried himself of what the wimp would do on his own, but he had faith in him

"A king whose emotions are constantly wavering cannot achieve his maximum potential. Leaving him to find his own path is the best I can do for him and for this country" He said finally turning around to look at Elizabeth. "There are changes coming our way, and probably some difficult times, but I trust Yuuri with all my heart, I know he'll be the brightest sun this land has ever seen"

Elizabeth could see the traces of hurt in Wolfram's eyes. He was so deeply in love with Yuuri that it actually flooded over him. It was painful to watch, for more than one reason.

"But Wolfram... how can you be so sure that he does not love you?" She finally asked what she had been dying to ask since she got there.

Wolfram actually chuckled when hearing the question. It wasn't a bitter laugh, he really found the question funny.

"I know that he loves me, he loves me dearly, as his friend, and he probably always will" he answered looking through the window once more.

"You know that whole I don't like men stuff is just bullshit right?" Wolfram's eyes widened, it was rare to see Elizabeth swearing, she was truly affected by the subject. It made Wolfram smile, it somehow felt nice to feel how much she cared.

"Actually, I haven't heard that excuse in years" He said coming down from the windowsill. "I believe that if I had waited a bit more we would have probably gotten married, and I doubt he wouldn't have enjoyed me in bed. I've caught the wimp gawking at my ass more times that I can count in the last five years"

Now it was Elizabeth't turn to be wide-eyed, that was a bit too much information.

"Never the less, he would have never loved me. Not in the way a husband should" he said with a tone of acceptance so deep that Elizabeth throat felt constricted. But she understood, you cannot force the heart to to go where it doesn't belong, even if you want it to, even if it is the best for you, it just doesn't work that way.

"What do you plan to do now?" She finally asked, after several minutes of silence.

"I'm no better than any other sunflower in the land. I'll follow my king's light until the end of my life, that will never change" he paused and poured himself some wine from the bottle that had been sitting, untouched, on the table next to the window all day. "But no matter how badly I may want to, that is all I can do, I will never be able to actually stand by his side, I understand that now"

Elizabeth stood slowly and walked to stand in front of Wolfram, for a second she just stared at him, her expression unreadable. And then a sudden hug. Wolfram felt tense at first, but then he let himself relax into it. He was actually incredibly thankful she had been there by his side so long, and waited for him to talk by himself. He had to be careful though, he didn't want to do to Elizabeth what Yuuri did to him.

She then kissed him on the cheek and announced she would go see if dinner was ready with a big smile, she knew there was actually nothing she could say, so she chose not to say anything.

Only when she was far past the actual kitchen did she let her tears fall. She didn't even knew what was it that she was crying about, but she couldn't stop. That feeling of intense sadness, that profound acceptance... she thought her heart would break.

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Ok guys, here's the deal. At some point I had a dream in which I sat down in front of my computer and wrote this chapter, the entire thing, word per word. After a few days I remembered that the chapter was ready and wanted to post it, but then realized it was just a dream! Have you ever tried to re-write something you never actually wrote? I was so frustrated that I let this story go for a while. Sorry about that.

Have you liked this story so far? I hope you have, I'm actually having a great time writing it, even if I end up wanting to cry myself sometimes LOL.


	6. Tears of the full Moon

_WARNING__:_ One sided: WolfYuu, ShinMura and MuraYuu. We'll see how this changes in time. Rating also may change. This story is not beta-ed, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated.

_Re-posted to correct a few things._

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_Tears __of __the __full __Moon_

It had been a couple of weeks already since Ken had arrived at Blood Pledge Castle and he had somehow already developed a daily routine.

After waking up in the morning he would keep Shibuya company while he made his morning exercises, Ken would just watch and cheer, or tease him though. He was always more of a manager than a player.

They would have their meals together but the rest of the day they spent apart. Ken had discovered a small library in the second floor's west wing that he didn't knew about, the books weren't that old, it had been made by one of the Maous who reigned whilst one of his lives spent on Earth. In any case, it was new reading material, something he had been craving for a long time.

Yuuri would spend his days mostly inside his office, taking care of the ridiculous amount of paperwork it takes to run a kingdom. Once every couple of days he had an official meeting with Gwendal about the measures being taken in terms of the heat drought. Ken would also participate, the Great Sage didn't just have the name after all.

The first week they slept together because of the broken Maou's bed, but once the new one arrived Yuuri kept on visiting his friend at night. They talked and laughed and remembered for a few fleeting hours how it felt to be a just a couple of normal young men.

However, things, as it usually happens, wouldn't stay as calm forever.

Ken was walking aimlessly through the courtyard, his now recurrent headache had prevented him from spending the afternoon reading and the heat wasn't doing him any favors either. He found a bench well covered by the shade of a three and sat down to rest. His body really wasn't built for this extreme temperatures.

He looked up and saw how the sunlight passed through the branches being softly rocked by the wind. It was a beautiful sight, but it reminded him of something he had managed to keep his mind off for a while. Shinou, the sun. Or was is just _a _sun...

He wondered if the old baby was back at the Shrine yet, he ought to be, it had been three weeks already, even the Great One's powers had a limit, considering he was dead al all.

Even if he was back, Ken just didn't want to leave the castle. Maybe he didn't want to leave Shibuya's side with him being so depressed over Wolfram's departure, but maybe, and quite possibly, he just didn't want to face reality, he didn't want to face Shinou.

He hadn't managed to put himself together yet, he still didn't understand his own feelings. He wanted, no, he needed a bit more time.

Even though his days in the castle were enjoyed alongside Shibuya, nights were plagued with nightmares and memories, worst than it had ever been. Up to a certain point he was used to dreaming about past lives and old forgotten memories which seemed to never end. However this past weeks had been different, it was as if his memories were drowning him, slowly pushing him out of control, but staying always out of reach.

He felt so helpless and alone, and so incredibly ashamed of being lost. He always thought he was a strong person, he was always so sure he could look at any situation with logic and reason.

But his emotions had betrayed him.

Ken just sat there and let the hours pass him by until he noticed the sun slowly setting, not that the heat wasn't showing any mercy because of it. He thought it was about time to head back inside, he had probably skipped dinner and Shibuya might be wondering where he was.

Almost genuinely smiling because of the thought of Shibuya worrying a little over him, he started the walk to the nearest entrance. However, he never made it through the door.

"Geika! I've been looking all over for you!" a soldier said to Ken in between gasping breaths. The man looked like he had been really running around the whole castle trying to find him.

"It's from the Shrine, sire. They said it's urgent" he said straightening himself up and handing Ken a piece of parchment.

He opened it and quickly scanned through the few words written obviously by Ulrike.

"That stupid asshole..."

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...oOo...

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Yuuri was getting ready to go to bed, well actually to go see Murata in the room next door. It had somehow become a habit to go talk to him for a couple of hours before actually turning in.

He was really grateful Murata had come to the castle in the moment he did, if he hadn't Yuuri wasn't sure what he would have done. Even though he really hadn't done much with him there either. He was just glad he wasn't going through this alone, much like it happened when he decided to live in Shin Makoku permanently.

He still hadn't signed the engagement termination document, but he was now sure that he had to, it was one of the few conclusions he had reached this past few weeks. He had also sent a letter to Wolf, but he received no answer.

As sad as he was because of the lost of his best friend, there was something else in his mind lately, something that kept him restless no matter the time of the day, even in his dreams something was definitely wrong. He felt something was missing, something aside from Wolf, something else that had always been in the air around him felt different, he couldn't figure out what it was, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling off either.

Also, Murata had been acting weird, Yuuri still wasn't able to put his finger on it though. He didn't feel specially un-bright because of this, Murata was a hard one to figure out; but he was worried.

Superficially, the glasses boy acted just like always, but Yuuri could swear that for a split second, when Murata though he wasn't looking, he had this look on his eyes that just looked incredibly lonely.

Murata's past lives had never intrigued Yuuri before, he was a simple-minded person for this kind of things, his friend was Murata Ken and that was that.

Now, for the first time, he felt an incredible urge to know, but he dared not ask. He had seen that particular expression on his friend's face only a few times, but it was always heartbreaking, the expression Murata made when he remembered.

The weight on Murata's shoulders, Yuuri couldn't understand it, and he wasn't going to try, it would be pointless. But he did wanted to help. He wanted to see the people he cared about smile, he wanted his loved ones to be happy and he didn't want to keep making the same mistakes.

With Wolfram he had the truth in front of him from the beginning, his friend was suffering and he didn't notice. No, he didn't want to notice, so he closed his eyes to what was in front of him because he was too much of a coward to do otherwise.

That was going to change, _he_ was going to change.

With that in mind Yuuri walked to the door and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, he didn't want to pry, but he couldn't think of any other way to help, so he had made a decision. Tonight, he was just going to ask Murata what was wrong and wouldn't back down until he knew what was it and what he could do about it.

Usually he would put on his pajamas before doing his night visit, but somehow he thought being dressed would make him look more serious about the subject. It was probably idiotic but he needed something, anything that would provide him with some leverage over Murata's Sage attitude when he felt threatened and lashed out, which he probably would.

He walked the fifty feet that separated his bedroom's door from Murata's. Quite a lot considering they were adjacent rooms, but that was a castle for you. He stood in front of the door and knocked. Silence answered him.

That was odd, Murata hadn't been present at dinner, but he didn't though he would leave without letting him know. He tried knocking a second time a bit louder in case Murata just hadn't heard him, but surprisingly the door, which seemed locked just a second ago, opened up by itself.

Yuuri took a few doubting steps inside and noticed immediately there weren't any lit candles and there weren't any traces of anyone having been in the room since the maids cleaned it that morning either, judging by the folded pajamas on top of the bed covers.

The windows were open and a soft breeze entered through them along with the moonlight. Yuuri noticed it was a full moon and though it was odd, for what he knew the full moon should be at least a week away.

Walking closer to the window, drawn by the swaying curtains, something called his attention. There, in the same desk that two weeks ago, the same mockingbird.

But that wasn't possible, was it? It couldn't be the same one, although even if it wasn't, the fact of another bird coming through the same window a second time was too weird to be a simple coincidence.

When Yuuri was about to walk in the direction of the mockingbird, the small bird took flight, but not to the window, like Yuuri would have expected, but on the opposite direction, to the open door leading to the hallway.

Yuuri soon found himself running behind the bird in narrow dark hallways and passages he was sure he had never seen before.

But he couldn't let it go. Yuuri knew he was probably crazy, but he was sure the bird has smirked to him before taking flight.

But birds couldn't smirk, could they?

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...oOo...

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Ken wasn't really sure exactly how he had gotten to _that_ room of all rooms. His feet apparently had more willpower than he gave them credit for. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be there but at least he could be certain no other soul would come bother him. Only two people knew about the existence of the specific passageway that leaded there.

Well, maybe now it was just one.

He clenched his fists around the parchment he had received who knows how many hour ago. Somehow his brain had shut down after that and he wasn't really sure what he had done up until that moment. He knew it was dark already, but he wasn't sure if it was late night of early morning, it sure felt like he had been walking for hours, his whole body ached.

Ken took a look around him. Time hadn't treated the room kindly.

The bed in which the Daikenja and his king once slept countless secret nights away, was now covered in dust and its wood had lost its luster. He lit the old candles still standing on the chandelier with a spark of his marioku. He wasn't a fire user in this life, but he was able to do that much.

Once under the dim light the room seemed to come to life and so did the memories inside of Ken. His mind was suddenly flooded with images of those nights, of those times, of _those _people, and _their _love.

Because it had never been his to begin with.

But then why?

Why did he felt like someone had just stomped on his heart?

In the wall opposite to the door was a painting of Shinou and the Daikenja. He remembered when it had been painted. It had been Rufus Bielefeld who did it, the man was very talented, but had failed to trespass his talent through his genes apparently.

It was a simple set up and it was quite smaller than the ones hanging in the rest of the castle. They were standing next to the tree where the covenant was made with the spirits of the land and Shinou had his arm wrapped around the Daikenja's shoulder while they both gazed into the sky, into their future.

What a lie that had been. And now...

Murata felt his knees shaking and his legs losing strength. Actually his whole body was shaking. But he didn't care, he couldn't care anymore. He let himself fall to the ground on his knees and he contemplated the painting in front of him.

He knew this was going to happen, he always knew this day would someday come, he knew and yet he wasn't ready. Silent tears starting falling down his cheeks while blurry eyes kept pinned on that painting.

There was something inside of him, something he had kept locked away deep on his heart. He didn't know what it was, he didn't want to know, he only knew it was broken now, beyond all repair and hope.

A whole of pure emptiness grew larger on his chest with every muffled sob. He felt desperate, lost, like a little child alone in a large crowd. What good could it do him to remember now? This feelings inside of him, what was memory and what was feeling. He didn't knew where to draw the line anymore.

What kind of destiny can the moon have without the sun? How is it supposed to shine? How is it supposed to stay alive?

He covered his face with both hands as the tears kept falling down. His glasses fell to the ground, he didn't notice, he didn't care.

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...oOo...

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Yuuri wasn't even sure if the bird was still flying in front of him, but by the looks of it, he had somehow gotten himself through some secret passages underground and he really couldn't see much far ahead.

After a few minutes walking to wherever the curves took him Yuuri saw what seemed to be a half-open door at the end of a hall. Light was coming from inside so he thought there was probably someone there. He thought of turning back, but quite frankly he wasn't sure he would be able to, without getting hopelessly lost. Well, he probably already was.

Yuuri walked to the source of the light and heard what sounded like a soft whimper from inside. For some reason felt he shouldn't knock, so he just pushed the door open.

What he saw shook him to his very core.

Murata was on his knees on the floor in front of a painting of Shinou and the Daikenja, his glasses were on the floor and he was covering his face with his hands. He was crying... so, so desperately.

Yuuri froze on the spot. Murata had been always strong, composed, pedantic even. The man in front of him looked so fragile, so small, and so lonely.

The sound of a loud sob woke Yuuri from his stupor. He quietly walked to stand right behind Murata, who apparently hadn't noticed his presence yet. He thought of maybe leaving Murata alone, maybe he didn't want him there, but then he remembered his resolution from a while ago. If he was going to chance, what better moment to start.

He took notice of a parchment lying on the floor next to Murata. It had only a few words written in quite big letters. He recognized the handwriting as Ulrike's.

_The __waterfall __has __dried__._

It was all it said.

In a flash the wheels in his brain starting moving. The meaning of those words, Murata's behavior and sudden arrival to the castle, and that odd feeling he had since over a week ago... He then realized what was missing. It was that feeling of having someone watching over him. It was Shinou's presence.

His chest hurt, he got it, he understood now. But he did not know what to do and every sob he heard made his heart shrink.

He quietly kneeled behind Murata and did the only thing he could think of, he wrapped his around him.

Murata gave a small jump and his crying came to a sudden halt. Yuuri feared he had done something wrong. He knew the kind of person Murata was and he knew he wouldn't want anyone to see him like this, but he didn't loosen his hold, he did just the opposite. He was, in fact, a simple-minded person, and this was all he could do, so he wished Murata would just let him.

To his surprise, after a few seconds Murata relaxed in his arms, although he never turned around to look at him. He felt a shivering hand grabbing his arm, but when he thought Murata was going to try to make him let go, Murata hid his face on that same arm's shirt sleeve, that was soon soaked through with tears.

Yuuri felt like crying too for a moment. He had never seen his friend like this, he had never even heard him complain about anything, he would always just keep it all inside. He was happy, even if it felt a bit wrong, that Murata was trusting him, that he was being useful even if just for this.

And at the same time he felt just so sad, so frustrated. All he ever really wanted was for the people he loved to be happy. It broke his heart to realize just how much Murata had been suffering, just how much he had been holding in.

After a while, Yuuri had no idea if it was only a few minutes or hours, Murata slowly calmed down. The tears left only a few involuntary hiccups that Yuuri could see Murata was trying to desperately hold in, and failing. He also wouldn't come out of his hiding place in Yuuri's arm, which made him think he was probably starting to feel embarrassed.

Yuuri smiled to himself and thought that Murata was actually being kind of cute. Although it was a bit disturbing to think that was possible.

With his free arm Yuuri reached for Muratas glasses and handed them to him, he figured that would give him some confidence considering how much he liked to hide behind them.

It proved to be the right call once Murata put them on and turned around to look at him, well, actually at the floor below him, but it was a start.

Yuuri stood up and offered his friend a hand.

"Let's go" he smiled.

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...oOo...

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Probably thanks to a miracle Yuuri was able to lead the way out of the secret room, but he took a wrong turn somewhere that lead them to a direct exit to the courtyard, just behind the apple tree he had adopted as his a few weeks ago. It was where he went when he felt uneasy, so he thought it was a perfect coincidence.

Ken had been too exhausted to notice Shibuya had been holding his hand the entire time since he helped him up, and only did once they sat down under the tree. That specific tree held a lot of memories for him, or for his past self really.

Now that his brain was starting to catch up with the situation and his earlier actions, a lot of emotions started to grow on the pit of his stomach. But he was far too exhausted to worry about it at the moment. He just felt drained and sad, but most of all he was thankful, too thankful to let his own stubbornness get in the way of Shibuya's attempt to comfort him, because he really needed it.

He lied down on the grass and put his hands behind his head to act as a pillow, while Shibuya rested his back on the tree, doing the same thing with his hands. Looking closely he noticed just how drenched Shibuya's sleeve was and he felt a wave of heat raising up to his head. Shibuya looked at him and smiled, making him blush even more, so he looked away.

They remained in silence for a few minutes, neither of them had any idea of what time it was, but they had no intention of sleeping at all anyway. The moon looked so much bigger than it usually did.

"So, you and him_.._?" Yuuri asked after a while, he didn't finish the question because he wasn't really sure what was it that he wanted to ask. In reality he didn't wanted to know anything specific, he just wanted Murata to speak.

"Not really, not _me__" _Ken answered honestly, it was never in his nature to be straightforward, but he felt so light somehow, he just let the words come out as they wanted.

"I told you before right? All this memories, all those people, they're not mine, they're not me. The Daikenja loved Shinou, not me. And even though that's true, even though I know I just..." He paused thinking he was probably going to break down again if he kept talking. Then he felt a firm but kind hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Shibuya wasn't looking directly at him, probably to not make him uncomfortable, he smiled at the thought and let himself go on.

"You felt it too, didn't you? His presence has been gone for a while now. I just didn't want to believe it"

Yuuri nodded, although he had just realized it few hours ago.

"I don't really know how to say this but... are you sure it's just the Daikenja who loved Shinou, I mean..." Yuuri trailed off, he felt like he was saying something he shouldn't. But he had to say it, that mockingbird, he was sure the thing smirked at him, and it lead him to where Murata was, so that probably meant... maybe there was still something to be done, but he didn't wanted to give Murata any false hope.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Ken said with a small laugh, of that single thing he was certain. He wasn't just a few hours ago, but once Shibuya held him in his arms he knew, who he, Murata Ken, was in love with. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do now." he added.

In this life he was only known as the reincarnation of the Daikenja, that was what his existence meant in this world. It was the purpose of his soul, he felt like an empty clay doll, he had no direction for his life.

"Stay by my side"

Ken's eyes widened to all their extent. That was an answer he was definitely not expecting and for a moment he understood what Wolfram had gone through all this years. Shibuya was just too kind, so much it hurt, because those words would never mean what he wished they did. And still, he would also probably just do exactly that, stay.

He sighed dramatically and laughed, trying to ease the tension of the moment, well, for him at least.

"We sure have our share of problems with blonds, don't we?" they both laughed, a bit sadly though.

"You haven't signed it yet, I suppose"

Yuuri though he would flinch at the question, but surprisingly the mood of the night had made both soukoku show their most honest, hidden side, maybe it was the full moon.

"No, but I will" he said with conviction.

Ken bit his lower lip and took a silent deep breath, preparing himself to do the most idiotic thing he knew he would ever do.

"Say Shibuya, are you sure you are not the one in love with your blond?" There, he had said it right and flat. However Shibuya's expression wasn't the one of surprise he was expecting.

"Yes, I'm sure too" he answered just as flatly. So Ken went to plan B, after all he had just spilled half the beans anyway.

"Oh, come on Shibuya! I know how they raised us back on earth, but is the gender really such an issue, I mean, you have been devastated ever since he left and you can't deny Bielefeld is a beauty" Ken forced himself to stop talking, he was actually starting to sound angry, and for a very obvious reason he definitely did not want Shibuya to know.

"It's not that and I'm not blind" Yuuri said taking a deep breath. Taking things off his chest like this was very un-japanese of him, but he figured, what the hell.

"I got over that years ago, I mean, this freaking world is so full of beautiful and handsome men it's ridiculous. I'm not blind now and I wasn't blind when I first got here. And feelings-wise I realize now how stupid it is to judge based on gender, you can't choose who to love"

Ken almost choked in his own saliva. He made no effort on hiding his bewilderment when he sat up to look at Shibuya, there was really no point, this was just _that _shocking, and shocking him was no easy task.

"Come on, don't look at me like that. I know I'm dense, but even I wouldn't take eight years to realize this."

Ken shut his mouth he just then noticed, was open.

"Then, what's stopping you from getting on a horse and bringing him back?" Ken asked, hiding the sadness that it brought him to say those words.

"Because I don't love him. I deeply care about him and love him as a friend, as family. But even though he's beautiful, and even if he was a girl... I'm just not in love with him, and I don't want to hurt him anymore. If he decides to come back, it's up to him." (1)

Ken rested his back on the tree too, trying to make Shibuya's words sink in. This was just too much information for one night, he didn't know what exactly was he supposed to do with it.

"Do you want me to go with you to the Shrine tomorrow?" Yuuri asked, although _tomorrow_was probably just a few hours away, the sky was turning a lighter shade of blue as he spoke.

"Yeah..." Ken looked at the first rays of sunlight appear behind the castle walls. An odd, uncomfortable but warm feeling was dancing in his stomach, he had never in his life accepted help so easily.

"There's a diplomatic procedure to follow after breaking a royal engagement, want any help with that?" he asked a bit timidly.

"Yeah..."

They watched the sunrise in that same position, both taking comfort on the feeling of the other's shoulder just slightly touching their own.

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*(1) That hurt just to write.

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I apologise to all of Wolf's lover out there (including me)! But well, I just sat down and wrote the words how they came to me and this was the outcome.

This chapter was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions wasn't it? I'd really like it if you let me know what you thought of it.

I was half-way to cry the entire time I was writing, but I really liked the outcome.


	7. Butterflies

_WARNING__:_ One sided: WolfYuu, ShinMura and MuraYuu. We'll see how this changes in time. Rating also may change. This story is not beta-ed, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated.

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_ Butterflies _

Only a month after Yuuri signed the engagement termination document, the entire country, if not the world, was aware of the new piece of gossip. The Maou was, for the first time, available for the pick.

The only reason there wasn't a horde of suitors in the castle doorstep was because the procedure wasn't still finalized, and being that the case, the Maou was still, by law, off-limits. That didn't stop a few of them though, but Gwendal had managed to scare them off, literally.

Yuuri found out, very soon after signing, that the entire castle was aware of Wolfram's decision before he was. On the bright side, he felt relieved not having to explain anything to anyone, but he couldn't help to feel betrayed, even though he knew he deserved it.

Ken, on the other side, had found himself actually grateful there was so much to do to finalize a royal engagement. It had kept him busy enough and he was glad to take that specific burden off of Yuuri's shoulders. By this point the possibility of Shinou's soul still resisting was close to zero, he knew that well, but was trying not to think about it too much.

That morning two letters had arrived to Blood Pledge Castle. One of them announced the delay of the dam construction because of an earthquake, meaning Conrad wasn't coming back any time soon; the other, confirmed the presence of Rufus von Bielefeld in the roundtable scheduled for the next Monday. It had been the last one to arrive, and did not state if Wolfram was coming along.

Yuuri was re-reading the letter for the hundredth time when Ken opened the door to the study and let himself in.

"Any news?" he asked, resting his back on the windowsill of the window behind Yuuri, and receiving no answer.

Ken understood the conflicted emotions swirling on Shibuya's mind. He wanted to see Wolfram, make sure he was okay, but at the same time felt too embarrassed and ashamed too actually see him. He knew because he had his own mix of feelings to deal with.

Their trip to the shrine had only confirmed what they already knew, and now there was nothing left to do. Only the future of the shrine itself was left to be decided, Shibuya had proposed it was kept as it was, now only to serve the purpose of a grave, but Ken reminded him that keeping the priestesses there for just that reason wasn't necessary. Shibuya had insisted nonetheless.

Ken had the feeling Shibuya had only done this for his sake, to ease his pain of losing Shinou by leaving things unchanged, and he was thankful. But that wasn't the way a king is supposed to make his decisions. They argued about it, but as it always was, once Shibuya had set his mind on something, there was no stopping him.

As for letting the country know of this, there was actually no need. Except for a selected circle of people, nobody knew Shinou still took a material form to show himself, and long ago he had given Ulrike his will of leaving the kingdom in the hands of Yuuri and his lineage. That was already a known fact to the people of the country.

Yes, this was a lost nobody would weep, only one man was left to carry the entire weight of this death beyond death itself.

A few minutes of silence passed by and neither Yuuri nor Ken wanted to be the one to break the silence.

It had been a rough week for them both and their shared pain had brought them closer together, a much-needed friendly hand was always at their reach. No consoling words had been exchanged, silence and company was just enough.

A sudden joyful squeal in the hallway brought them back to reality. After exchanging a questioning look they walked to the door and peeked in the direction of the noise.

"Did you hear!? Did you hear!?" Doria was screaming while jumping up and down with sparkling eyes.

"This is so exciting! We can get so much information!" Sangria answered, just as effusively.

"They haven't come back to the capital in over seventy years! I have never seen them myself" Lasagna said while directing her gaze into the sky."I hear that when they come down is one of the most beautiful things in this world" she continued and the other two nodded in agreement.

"And what about the legend? Maybe now that Heika is no longer enga..."

At that moment Sangria was cut short by the sudden realization of two sets of black eyes peeping on her through a half-open door. Before anything was said by the owners of those eyes the three maids had already ran halfway through the castle, into the kitchen.

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...oOo...

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"What the hell was that all about?" Yuuri questioned Murata, who was digging into his sandwich. They were eating lunch outside, just the two of them. Lately they did it a lot, Yuuri was ashamed to face Gwendal, so he did it as little as possible. The maids had practically tossed the picnic basket at them, and then locked themselves in the kitchen.

"Actually I wasn't sure until just a few minutes ago, one of the guards was apparently talking about it, and they must've overheard"

Yuuri looked at Murata, waiting for him to continue, since, as usual, his answer didn't really say anything. Yuuri had learned that, if he waited long enough, Murata would explain on his own.

"You see, every couple of year the butterflies in this world migrate for one country to the other" Ken said adjusting his glasses "Contrary to earthen ones, butterflies in this world live much longer lives, but they never stay too long in one place, so most people have never seen them. Probably someone saw them flying this way"

Yuuri thought about it for a second. So this scandal was about a bunch of butterflies that may or may not appear anywhere near them. What did that had to do with information, and with him no longer being engaged?

Ken saw the question marks appearing over Shibuya's head and wondered whether it was wise to tell him or not. He would probably go searching for the damned things and it wasn't the best of moments to leave the castle. Now, in the other hand, the possibilities of anyone actually finding them, were almost non-existent so...

"There is a popular believe that, if you find the butterflies just after they descend from their flight, they'll reveal what's in your heart" Ken said, regaining Shibuya's attention. He could be so cute sometimes, just like a big eyed puppy. Ken cleared his throat to chase away the smile threatening to show on his face. "It is said that the color of the butterfly that sits on your shoulder shows the eye color of the person you truly love". That was probably one half of what the maids were talking about, now, the other half was the tricky part.

"But what does that had to do with me not being engaged anymore?" Yuuri asked, unknowingly reading Murata's mind, as he then realized for his facial expression. He was actually getting good at that.

"Well, there's this legend that says that if you find a black butterfly and present it to the Maou before the day of the descent is over, he or she will fall in love with you"

Yuuri choke on his juice.

"You're kidding, right?" He asked, hoping Murata was just messing with him. This country, this entire world was so filled with this kind of weird legends and wonts. Something like this was obviously impossible back on Earth, but maybe here the damned butterfly was cursed or enchanted and could actually make him fall in love with a stranger. Just what he needed.

Ken laughed but shook his head. This was real, maybe stupid, but real. He actually didn't know up to which point it was true, but it was definitely real.

"Don't worry, it is said that only one butterfly in every flock is black, and I doubt anyone can find it. But just in case, you should get as far away from them as you can, unless you want to get trampled by a mob of suitors" Ken said and noticed how a small light in Shibuya's eyes died out. He knew it, Shibuya wanted to see the butterflies.

"It's a shame though, they must be really beautiful..." Yuuri said and was surprised to see Murata chuckle for no apparent reason.

"Yeah, I know"

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"You're still thinking about the butterflies, aren't you? It's already been five days. You should be worrying about the roundtable tomorrow" Ken said, mostly mocking Shibuya, he was actually glad he wasn't obsessing about the roundtable, it was the first of a large number of mandatory hearings for the official breaking of a royal engagement. It had never been confirmed, but Wolfram ought to be there, he had initiated the process, after all.

"I know but I'm curious" Yuuri said resting his head in one of Murata's pillows. He was making his daily visit to his friend before going to bed. To tell the truth, more than one time he had wished to actually just sleep there. He had discovered he really didn't like to sleep alone in that enormous room, and was reminded of how much that room actually scared him when he first got to Shin Makoku and Wolfram wasn't there.

But Murata wasn't a replacement for Wolfram. That he was sure of. Somehow their friendship was so utterly different it actually amazed him. With Wolfram Yuuri felt protected, the guy was unmistakably beautiful, but he was in no way fragile, Yuuri knew that and also knew Wolfram would give his life to save his at any time. That wasn't pleasant to know, quite the opposite actually.

With Murata it had always been what Yuuri would call a more _normal_friendship, that of two equals. Even if he was the reincarnation of the Dainkenja, Murata would always be the glasses guy from back on Earth. Also, ever since he came to live at the castle, Yuuri had discovered something he had suspected for a long time. Murata was much more fragile than he looked.

The always composed sage was actually capable of much more emotion that he ever imagined and was, always had been, lonely on the inside. Yuuri found himself feeling protective over his friend, he wanted to take care of him, ease the loneliness and his suffering he had carried for so long. It was such a refreshing change to feel actually able to protect someone, to actually know what to do.

"Say Murata, don't you want to see them too?" he asked. Murata was reading some book by the window, in the desk the mockingbird had appeared, not once, but twice. Yuuri still hadn't told that to Murata, and he probably wasn't going to.

"Well, I have seen them before" Ken answered without thinking. Then he noticed Yuuri sitting on the bed and looking at him while frowning.

"No, you haven't" he said, stressing the word _you_. Ken laughed and thought it was really just like Shibuya to actually remind him he was Murata Ken and no one else.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" he said when he had managed to control his laughter and Shibuya was looking at him with the cutest questioning look, at least in his opinion.

Searching through his memories he remembered the first time his soul had seen the butterflies, a light blue one had landed on the Daikenja's shoulder.

"See! Why don't we go looking for them?" Yuuri said, almost jumping out of the bed. To be completely honest, he had a hidden motive for all this. No matter what Murata said, Yuuri was still uncertain. Murata was suffering so much, maybe he was really in love with Shinou, and the butterflies could answer that question.

It wasn't like him to be this nosy, he himself wasn't sure of why he wanted to know the answer to that specific question so badly

"I thought you had outgrown that phase by now. I hadn't heard you proposing irrational quests in a while" Ken said with a fake scolding tone, he actually missed that particular aspect of Shibuya's personality.

"Oh come on! Wouldn't you like a good adventure?" Ken thought about it for a second, truth is he wasn't the adventurous type, but he did enjoyed Shibuya's face while facing one. Unlike Shinou, Shibuya never had a plan before acting, although Shinou's plans were never all that good either. Shibuya could shine even without the planning, he could truly smile before situations that would break most people's spirit, he never gave up and he never let anyone behind. Most like Ken assumed Wolfram had once thought too, he would feel honored to follow Shibuya into the ends of the world.

When he was about to just give up and let Shibuya have his way, they heard a loud woman's scream coming from the courtyard. In less than a second they were both running down the stairs barefooted and in their pajamas, internally calling their respective marioku.

What they found waiting for them, was nothing like they had imagined.

It was the butterflies.

"No way" They weren't sure which one had voiced their shared thought.

It was almost impossible to see them descending in the dark, but once the light of the castle reached them they were actually more beautiful than Yuuri had imagined and Ken remembered.

Every maid, guard and in sum, every soul in the castle had gone out to see the spectacle. Hundreds of butterflies, in every color you could possibly imagine, were descending and finding places to rest in every flower, plant or person in the courtyard.

Yuuri unconsciously walked to the center of Celi's garden while looking up into the color filled night sky. Laughter and cheering could be heard from even outside the castle walls. It felt like a miracle.

Voices announcing the color of the butterfly that had chosen them or those around them popped out every few seconds, but even after all of them had come down, none had chosen Yuuri, and apparently no one had found the legendary black one either.

Yuuri felt somewhat disappointed, not because of the missing black butterfly, but because none of them had chosen him as their landing spot. He knew he wasn't in love at the moment, so according to the myth, it was understandable, but still. Even when he tried to pick one up from a flower, it had flown away from him.

Then he suddenly remembered, he had lost Murata on the sea of color at some point. He needed to find him, he needed to see if a blue butterfly was standing on his shoulder, only then he could be sure.

Trying to walk between the countless people who had gathered in the courtyard was almost impossible, he didn't want to step into any butterfly either, so it took him almost five minutes to walk what usually would only take seconds. He looked up trying to see if he could recognize Murata's hair over the bunch of heads, and then he noticed a single butterfly still in flight, that seemed to be unnoticed by everyone else, but he couldn't distinguish what color it was.

He followed the butterfly into the deep west end on the yard. It flew slowly and circled every once in a while, refusing to land in any shoulder it passed by. This side of the castle wasn't well-lit, and it was becoming harder and harder for Yuuri to follow it, which made him wonder why was he chasing it in the first place, he had to go find Murata.

Suddenly Yuuri realized exactly where the thing was flying to, only a few meters away he could see his apple tree and there was someone standing just under it. The moon shone brightly in their direction, but the person was facing away from him, and Yuuri could only see his silhouette.

The butterfly had landed on the mysterious person shoulder and now Yuuri was more intrigued than ever. Then he heard a chuckle in a well-known voice.

"So you managed to find me" it was Murata's voice, for a moment Yuuri thought he was talking to him and walked closer, enough to perfectly distinguish the scene, but then he noticed Murata was actually talking to the butterfly and offering it his index finger for it to rest on.

Yuuri was frozen on the spot, against the moonlight it was clear, he couldn't deny what his eyes were showing to him.

That butterfly, the one that had chosen Murata wasn't blue, it wasn't blue at all.

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Sorry, this chapter was shorter than I expected.

So you're probably thinking "Then what color was it!?", I think you can probably imagine.

I know this story has at least one more chapter, but I don't know how many more I'll do after that. Any thoughts plot-wise?

Now, an answer to an anonymous reviewer:

**Grace****:** Thanks so much for taking the time to review! I'm glad you think that way, especially since I really didn't have much faith in this story when I started it, because of the pairings and of how I wanted to approach every character. I hope you can let me know what you think of this chapter too.


	8. Crazed

_**WARNING**__**:**_ Rating may change. This story is not revised, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated, I wrote and posted this one at work, so I didn't really had time to check it at all, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, so bear with my mistakes this time, please.

_**SPOILER**__**ALERT**__**:**_ The pairings, or the one-sidedness of the pairings really, **are **changing, so if you don't want to see that happening, please read another story.

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_Crazed_

The much dreaded day had finally arrived. Yuuri was unable to process any coherent thinking at the moment. His thoughts jumbled and unclear as he stood in front of the castle's entrance, watching the caravan on carriages arrive for the roundtable.

He had greeted almost all of the nobles, including Günter, who was just arriving from his biennial inspection of the furthest corners of the land. Now only one carriage remained, the last one on the long line.

"Relax, you're gonna pop a vein Shibuya" Yuuri felt a warm hand squeezing his shoulder in reassurance, but the gesture only made him tense all the more. He wasn't sure of what to think at the moment, it was humanly impossible to divide his focus between what had happened last night and what was happening right now.

A soldier dressed in bright blue stood in front on the carriage and opened the door. It was obviously one of Wolfram's private guards. Yuuri gulped quite audibly and held his breath. The first one to come down was Waltorana.

Using all of his self control and inner strength Yuuri walked up to him.

"Good morning Heika" Waltorana said, with a lot less hate on his voice than what Yuuri was expecting... Actually, he even sounded sympathetic. That made Yuuri's shoulders drop and Ken breathed a silent sigh of relief on the background.

"Good morning, I hope you had a good journey" Yuuri responded as he had been practicing on his mind for the past hour, but when he was about to let his worried slip away, another person stepped down from the carriage.

"Wolf..."

For a moment time stood still. Soldiers, nobles and servants passing by stopped on their tracks and remained silent, as their eyes were directed to a single spot.

Yuuri felt a knot forming on his stomach and throat. He thought he was ready for this, but he had been wrong. Wolfram wasn't wearing his usual blue uniform, but a cream one, with small details in gold. He looked regal, maybe taller even, or was it that Yuuri just felt unbelievably small?

Their eyes met and a chill ran through the spines of all those present, currently staring at the scene. Their expressions unchanged as a small breeze passed by, making Wolfram's hair dance.

"Yuuri" Wolfram said to himself and stepped closer to his former fiance. After taking a deep breath, he bowed his head to his king, as he was supposed to.

"Good morning, Heika"

That last word stabbed Yuuri in the heart and Ken, standing just behind them, could almost feel the pain himself. This scene was just too much, a real TV drama like the ones his mom watched on earth while sobbing her eyes out, he never understood why, until that moment.

"Please don't" Yuuri took Wolfram's left hand and raised the other up to his chin, making him look up. Wolfram's perfect poker face flinched for a second because of the obvious cracks in Yuuri's voice, just until his eyes met Yuuri's smile. God he had missed that wimp's goofy smile.

"How have you been, my friend?" Yuuri asked quite uncharacteristically, but honestly, which almost made Wolfram chuckle.

"I've been fine, Yuuri" he answered and let himself smile, using all of his reasoning power to stop himself from simply throwing himself in Yuuri's arms. Instead, he lightly squeezed the hand that still held on to his.

"I hate to break this up" Ken lied in a whisper while cutting in on the endearing picture "But I think people are waiting". That part wasn't a lie though, everyone, and that really means _everyone_ was looking at them, some even holding their breaths. Prolonging the reunion could actually have a negative effect on a few people's health.

"Let's go then"

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...oOo...

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"How long do you think this will be?" Yuuri whispered to Murata, who was sitting beside him, glad he no longer had to stand the rollercoaster it once meant sitting in the middle of the round table.

"It all depends on how much von Bielefeld has to say, and whether or not anyone opposes your separation"

"Heika, Wolfram, as stipulated by the law you have now been apart for two months and have both signed the required documents" Gwendal said and cleared his throat. He had been keeping an eye on the Maou from a distance the last two months, he had given him his space and was quite content once he noticed the king hadn't stopped fulfilling his duties, even though he was depressed. He had also been worrying himself sick for his baby brother, having to confront both of them in this situation wasn't exactly ideal for him.

Gwendal hadn't meant to make a dramatic pause, but he soon realized everyone was half holding their breaths.

"In this time, in front of appropriate noble witnesses, do you confirm your intentions of breaking your now eight years long engagement?"

Then all eyes went on Wolfram's direction. It was quite uncharacteristic for everyone at the table to be so quiet. Even Stoffel was patiently awaiting for his nephew's answer.

"As I stated on the original document, I wish to end my engagement to the Maou as soon as possible" Wolfram said as calmly as he had ever spoken.

Bewilderment would fall short on the attempt to describe the reactions of the nobles. They had all heard Wolfram had been the one to actually dump the Maou, but they had thought it was probably one of his tantrums. They all knew Wolfram von Bielefeld since he had been born, and they knew, he was dead serious.

At that point all the eyes flew to the other side of the table, were the Maou was sitting, the Sage had just whispered something in his ear and his expression was completely unreadable, a perfect diplomat's poker face. They still got surprised when they saw that expression on his king, who was no longer a child.

"I agree with lord von Bielefeld's wishes." he said slowly. "I only ask that his honor shall not be stained by this process and that for official matters my name appears as the initiator of it"

Some jaws dropped right there. Even Wolfram's mouth was left half-opened by that remark, while the Great Sage enjoyed the pleasure of watching such a scene. Yuuri was becoming an excellent Maou, they should all have known that by now.

Wolfras was truly surprised, he hadn't expected Yuuri to say something like that, not because he didn't know he was just that kind, but because he didn't believe Yuuri would think that far ahead on his own.

That made him notice something, he had noticed how Yuuri's face showed obvious lack of sleep, only to those who knew him though. But at that moment he noticed the Sage looked equally sleep deprived. Considering the whole thing with Shinou it was to be expected, but something felt off, nonetheless...

"But Heika..." Günter started to speak but was cut short by a glare directed at him by Gwendal, who wasn't about to let his baby brother's honor be stained in the first place.

Having been engaged to the Maou and then rejected by him wasn't such an uncommon thing, specially with Maou's such as Cheri, but being the one to willingly leave the Maou's side was considered a tremendous offense, and there was a precedent of people who had been accused of treason for it. That was the main reason Wolfram hadn't rejected their engagement to begin with from the start, when he still hated Yuuri's guts.

"Also" Yuuri continued and attracted all the glances that were being exchanged by the nobles. "I wish to keep Wolfram as one of my retainers, as he has proved to be a loyal servant to this kingdom"

Wolfram locked eyes with Yuuri for the first time since they sat down and saw the king like expresion on his face change into a warm smile.

"That is, when he decides, on his own free will, that he wants to come back to serve at the capitol, or through his work at the Bielefeld land"

Yuuri's smiled proved to be contagious, as it spread through the table, reaching Wolfram himself. This was definitely the more peaceful meeting of this sort the nine nobles had ever seen, it felt almost wrong to let them break the engagement when they were smiling to each other like that.

But they also knew, specially those closest to the couple, that those smiles were only those of friends, dear friends.

Ken had to keep reminding himself of that fact to stay calm though, but whatever.

"You do realise this will have a negative effect on your reputation Heika?" Waltorana reminded the Maou, not that he wasn't happy that the blame would be off of his nephew's shoulders, but because he was a righteous man. His opinion seemed to be shared by everyone at the table.

"I don't really care" Yuuri said plainly. "Besides, if bad rumours help keep the suitor away, all the better"

That last comment, much more like the usual easy-going Yuuri, earned a laugh from all of the people in the room, including Wolfram.

Stoffel, to whom the message was obviously directed, faked a laugh too.

When the laughter died down Ken cleared his throat and successfully drawn the attention towards himself.

"Well, with that settled then, it leaves the matter of the investigation" That was a subject everyone was hoping they could avoid, but the law is the law.

"As to prove that lord von Bielefeld never committed any acts of infidelity that could be leading to this separation an investigator, approved by this roundtable must be appointed to this task and turn in his results in exactly one month" Ken continued.

Yuuri was hoping that with him being the one to officially break the engagement they wouldn't have to do this, he hated the idea of someone praying on Wolf's and his private affairs. He also didn't understand why was only Wolfram who had to be investigated, even if he was the king, if he had cheated, which he hadn't, he had to be punished too, right?

"Any suggestion as to who should be appointed to this task? Keep in mind that it cannot be someone directly related to any of the parties involved" That remark was **also**, directed at Stoffel.

"Well, it obviously cannot be any of the present, since we all have affairs to take care of back in our lands" Lord von Karbelnikoff said after a moment, he couldn't let his business alone for a whole month, and neither could any of the other nobles. However, they needed someone close enough that they could trust, Wolfram's honor was on the line, along with any prospect of ever getting married to anyone.

"I propose we send Hube" Yuuri said after thinking for a second while looking at Gwendal's face. If there was someone he could trust with a mission like this it was him. Initially he had wanted to send Yozak, but he was away on a mission in Caloria, calling him would mean stalling things for at least another two or three weeks, and he wanted to get this over with soon, as soon as possible, as Wolfram wanted.

"I agree" spoke Gwendal with a small twich in his right eye.

"All in favor?" Ken asked and received a unanimous aye.

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...oOo...

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It was six o'clock and everyone was already gone, including Wolfram.

Yuuri was sitting under the apple tree's shadow. He practically hadn't exchanged five words with Wolf before he left. He understood that it was customary for this kind of procedure to keep the involved parties apart as much as possible, as to not cause any kind of undesirable quarrels or such. But he wanted to talk to him some more, know how he was doing or if he was planning on coming back.

He had stopped himself from making all this questions only because he knew keeping a distance was the decent thing to do, to give Wolf time to heal, to maybe someday forgive him.

"Yo Shibuya! here alone again? The maids were looking for you to star dinner soon" Ken said as he approached his crestfallen friend.

"I'm not really hungry right now" Yuuri said and stretched his muscles while moving to the side, giving Murata room to sit by his side. He understood the silent invitation and sat down, looking at the afternoon sun starting to set.

"Did I do the right thing?" he asked absent-mindedly.

"Yeah... you did" Ken answered and took the chance to study Shibuya's face. He looked somewhat dejected, he probably wished he could have shared a bit more with Bielefeld. He still couldn't completely believe Shibuya's words, was it possible that his feeling for the blond were just those of friends? It really didn't seem like it.

He had missed the opportunity to see if a green butterfly had landed on Shibuya's shoulder the night before. It was a perfect opportunity, but there was a very small, very unlikely chance that the one black butterfly would actually manage to find him, if that specific flock even had one. He knew it was completely devious on his part, but he wondered what would happen if he actually find it and presented it to Yuuri. Would he fall for him? Curiosity had managed to get the best of him and he decided to just get away from the whole thing.

Still, he wanted so much to know...

"Say, I didn't see you last night, after the butterflies came down. Did you go to sleep?" Ken asked, trying to hide his true intentions. It was weird though, even after he hid away the butterfly that chose him and went back to the main courtyard, he couldn't find Shibuya anywhere. Considering he was the one so adamant in looking for them, he didn't even watch them fly away. Was it maybe because he didn't wanted others to see which one had chosen him?

Shibuya's reaction seemed to prove that theory, seeing that he went red up to his ears all of a sudden. It was quite the change from his previous sad expression. Ken's heart sank.

Yuuri never expected Murata to actually bring up this subject. His mind had been so filled with nobles, roundtables and Wolfram that he had forgotten what he had seen the night before.

Murata had actually hidden away the black butterfly on some sort of marioku ball inside a hole on the tree, the same tree they were leaning on, before coming back to the courtyard, also before he ran the hell away from there with his heart beating a thousand miles an hour; he had to remember to ask him how he did that. He had felt so utterly stupid just a second after he reached his bedchambers when he remembered he might have been the only soukoku, other than Murata himself, in this world, but earth was freakin' full of them.

It was impossible for Murata to be in love with **him**, right? They had been gone for eight going to nine years already, but it was still possible for him to be meeting someone when they visited earth every couple of months.

That had to be it, that was surely it. Then why the hell was he so damned flustered?

"So, did you find the arrival of the butterflies enlightening?" Ken asked playfully, although he was beating himself up inside for even thinking he had a chance. It still wasn't too late to stop the process of breaking the engagement, or he could simply just propose all over again, and mean it this time. But, if that was the case, then why had he followed their plan that morning in the roundtable...

Yuuri choked on his own saliva. Was Murata actually trying to say something to him? Did he know he had seen him last night?

"Wh... What do you mean?" he stuttered, he could see Murata was getting angry for some reason.

"You know what I mean, the butterfly's color tells the eye color of the person to whom your heart belongs"

Ok... this was getting really, really weird, was Murata really in... in love with him? Was that what he was trying to say? Was he intending to present the black one to him to make him fall for him too!?

"A green one chose you right?" Ken finally thought he might as well spell it out for Shibuya, in this times he could really be called a wimp.

"Uh?" Yuuri was taken aback by the question and then felt a sudden wave of relief wash over him. "No, of course not, I told you already, I don't see him in that way" he chuckled and let out a long sigh.

"What? then why the hell were you blushing when I asked about it?" Yuuri was surprised, Murata was actually upset about this. "Come on Shibuya, it is so obvious that you love him!"

A strange feeling was starting to take form on Yuuri's stomach. For some reason he was very bothered by Murata being so adamant on that particular subject. It wasn't anger what he was feeling, he knew it wasn't, but it was the only shape that creeping feeling on him chest managed to take.

"What is wrong with you? Why do you want me to fall for him so badly!?" he almost yelled standing up, as did Murata. Logical thinking had officially left the building.

"I just want you to realize that you're making a mistake that you won't be able to take back!" Now they were both yelling. Ken wasn't sure just what had taken over him, something had snapped somewhere in his brain.

"I told you already I do not love him! What more do you want me to say? I tried to love him, I really tried!" Yuuri was feeling like punching his friend in the face.

"Why can't you tell me what you really want!?" at that moment the last bit of reasoning left in Yuuri mind thanked god they were in a hidden place where no one would hear them scream.

"What?" Ken took a step back and lowered his voice, but it was too late to stop what he had started. Shibuya was angry, he wasn't really sure why, but it had been a while since he had last seen him like that and it was his fault, he had let his emotions take over him, he knew better than this.

"Why can't you tell me you l...!" at that moment Yuuri suddenly heard his own words playing back on his head and stopped midtrack. What on Earth was he about to say... He didn't want to be the one Murata was in love with, and even if he was, why would he want to know? He wanted to destroy this friendship too?

And why had he felt so bothered, so disappointed that all Murata wanted was for him to get back together with Wolfram? This couldn't be happening...

"Shibuya?" Ken had seen a thousand and one thought pass across Shibuya's face and hadn't been able to grasp any of them. He took one step forward and managed to catch Shibuya's gaze.

"Forget it" he said heavily, looking away.

Ken stood still, frozen in place, watching as Shibuya's back became smaller and smaller, until it was finally gone.

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Hi everyone, it's been some time. I won't give any excuses, life just happens. Anyway, how did you like it?

I wanted to clarify that I didn't warn of character death because I'm not sure if anyone is dead yet, and to be fair, Shinou was dead to star with.

I don't know how much longer this will be. If words keep coming, I'll keep writing. Anything special you want to see in next chapter?

**friz****: **you actually reviewed three times on the last chapter! I just noticed it and had never had anyone do that on one of my stories. What can I say? thanks so much for taking the time and I hope this is as good as you expected.


	9. Vanilla

_WARNING__:_ Rating **HAS **changed, from **K** to **T**. This story is not revised, pointing out of spelling and grammar mistakes is appreciated.

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_Vanilla_

Yuuri had been thinking, or at least doing his very best, for about three hours. After fighting with Murata he had gone straight up to his room to sulk. Although, could that really classify as fighting with each other? He felt more like he had just been in a heated fight with himself. He had lashed out at Murata for some stupid reason he couldn't begin to understand and now he had no idea of what to do. Before walking away he catched a glimpse of Murata's expression, he looked... confused. That was just so unlike him, was Yuuri being that incomprehensible?

It was likely. Although Yuuri was used to Murata understanding what he was thinking before he did, this time Murata was completely wrong and there seemed to be no way of making him understand that.

Yuuri was walking from one side of his bedchambers to the other, which would have looked much more pathetic if the room wasn't so big. Just thinking about it made him become bothered again. Why couldn't Murata understand that he was **not **in love with Wolfram? and why in the world did it bother Yuuri so much that Murata was being so adamant in that particular subject?

Thinking about it, many people had said the same to him in the last couple of years, some even in a more persistent way. Greta had been one of them, Cheri and Anissina too. Maybe it was a woman's thing.

The point being, he had never felt so angry about it before. He had never felt angry at all.

Maybe at twenty-four years of age he still knew nothing about love, but he knew one thing, and that was that you cannot control to whom your heart turns. He had thought that if one person was going to understand him, it was Murata, but he was wrong apparently. Was that the reason he was so upset?

And setting that aside, why the hell was Murata so angry? The more Yuuri thought about it, the less it made sense. There was no possible reason for him to be like that.

In any way, his persistence on getting him back into his engagement with Wolfram definitely proved the black butterfly didn't represent him. It had to be someone from Earth.

For a moment Yuuri stopped pacing. He felt his chest getting tight for some reason he seriously didn't want to analyze any further.

He had to stop, thinking so much wasn't like him and he was starting to get dizzy from all the circling around.

The first thing he needed to do was to apologise to Murata. He had no idea of why his friend had acted in the way he had. The only thing he could do was take responsibility for his own actions and wait for Murata to so the same. Maybe this time too, if he waited, Murata would tell him what was wrong on his own.

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.oOo.

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Ken had arrived to his room not too long ago. He had actually stayed there, next to the apple tree, frozen on the spot, for who knows how long.

He was experiencing something completely new to him, his mind was blank. And not like when he couldn't remember something, or when he meditated. His brain had actually shut down. He had felt his brain cells turning off and his IQ dropping at least thirty points the moment Yuuri walked away.

He could actually hear buzzing inside of his head.

Out on the balcony there was a small glass coffee table and two metal chairs. The summer was coming to an end and nights were becoming colder. Ken searched for the small suitcase de had brought back with him when they had gone to visit the shrine and found the small metal box he always carried around with him.

Inside of it there were still five of the original ten vanilla cigarettes left. Ken wasn't exactly what you would call a smoker, but this scented cigarettes of this particular brand reminded him of very dear moments of his childhood, when life was still somewhat simple, and he used to smell that scent around his father.

So every once in a blue moon he would have one, and that night seemed like the perfect time.

He found took out the gas lighter he had bought the last time they visited earth and stepped out to the balcony. There was a glass ashtray on the table, as in every other guest room. Ken was glad about that, he didn't like throwing ashes on the floor.

One, two puffs and his shoulder felt much lighter. Just when he thought his mind was about to start working again, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" he said without standing up or looking away from the imaginary spot on the sky he had been staring at, assuming it couldn't possible be Shibuya after what had just happened.

But he was wrong.

"I didn't know you smoked" Ken's head would have jolted on the direction of Shibuya's voice if his muscles weren't so tired. So he just turned around slowly, although their eyes did not meet.

"Just sometimes" he answered and took the cigarette into his mouth. He would have offered Shibuya one, but he wasn't one to promote lung cancer. He wouldn't have refused if he asked though.

Ken saw Shibuya's silhouette sitting down on the chair in front of him, from the corner of his eye. He was unexpectedly unaffected by his presence, even after the fight, which was really weird. Maybe he had really just lose his mind.

"Look... I'm sorry" He started saying, but stopped once Ken turned around to look at him. Then he softly groaned, apparently out of frustration. Ken could only blink, there really wasn't anything he wished to say.

"I don't know why I got so worked up back there. I just want you to believe me when I tell you that I don't love Wolfram and that I don't think I'm doing anything that I'll later regret" Yuuri said all in one breath, he was getting restless. Murata looked so relax smoking, he almost thought of asking for one, but he had never really liked the flavor.

Receiving no answer, he just continued talking.

"I don't really understand why you got so angry. I wish you could tell me what you're thinking, that you would let me share some of the weight you always carry, I can see in your eyes that you suffer alone sometimes..." Ken flinched, he hated the way he felt at that moment, so small, so pathetic.

"But I won't ask you anything, I won't do anything if you don't want me to" Yuuri noticed how Murata's eyes had averted from his for a second there.

"For now, how about we just forget about what happened? I don't really get it, and for some reason I have the feeling you don't either" Yuuri smiled, his trademark smile, as their eyes meet again.

"Yeah... you're right" Ken finally spoke. Truth was, he had no strength left in him to oppose, and Shibuya was actually right. He had no idea of how and what exactly had happened, so why torture himself about it.

"You know, Shouri sent me some more magazines yesterday, wanna see them?" Yuuri asked hopeful. f things would just go back to normal, maybe the nagging feeling of dejection would go away.

"Sure, why not?" Ken said, looking at the half smoked cigarette in his hand.

"I'll go get them!" Yuuri said enthusiastically and sprinted to the door, but before he could reach for the doorknob, Murata's voice stopped him.

"Wanna stay here tonight?"

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"Sure"

And the door closed behind him.

Ken was playing back the words he had just said in his head. He honestly had no ill intentions when asking. He just though, unknowingly, something along the same lines as Shibuya; he wanted things to feel normal, so that he'd be able to move on from this.

Maybe it was time to face some facts. Even if Shibuya wasn't in love with Wolfram, he wasn't in love with him either, so there wasn't any need for him to be upset either way.

Yeah... that way of thinking was much more like him.

Meanwhile Yuuri was on the next room, freaking out a little bit. He had answered without thinking, or looking back to see Murata's expression. In any way, he really didn't want to be alone that night, he was feeling like half of a couple who just meet with their divorce lawyer since that morning, and being alone in that huge bed wasn't such a thrilling idea.

He chose not to over think things and quickly changed into his pajamas and grabbed the magazines from his desk.

In his hurry, so as not to keep thinking, he just opened the door to Murata's room and found him changing.

"Sorry" he said out of reflex.

"I don't mind" Ken answered.

The whole thing felt really weird, normally he wouldn't have apologized for something like that, they had bathed together a thousand times.

As Murata finished taking off his shirt Yuuri noticed something on his left shoulder, a scar, and unconsciously walked close to him and traced his fingers across it. Murata shivered slightly at the touch.

"This is new" Yuuri said, too lost in his thoughts to bother on whether he was being rude or not.

"Oh yeah. It was nothing, just a little accident with a bookcase at the shrine a few months ago"

Yuuri started laughing, he could practically see the scene playing in front of his eyes.

"How can someone so solemn be such a klutz" he said between chuckles.

"Like you are one to talk!" Ken answered putting on his pajama top and punching Shibuya slightly on the arm. Soon they were both laughing like there was nothing wrong in the world.

Only they had that effect on each other, the power to make everything else disappear for a second and just being able to relax, like normal people, with normal lives, just for a moment.

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.oOo.

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Slept reached Yuuri as soon as his head touched the pillow. He was exhausted and still felt a bit dizzy from just thinking too much.

At some point, in the midst of a dream about roller coasters he had woken up to find out he had turned in his sleep and was now facing Murata, who apparently had done the same. That wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't from the fact that they were, somehow, less than ten inches apart from each other.

Yuuri's eyes had fluttered open for about half a second and then they were closed again. For some weird reason he didn't dare to move a muscle and wake up Murata. His breath was uneven and faltering, he had just woken up from a ride on the biggest roller coaster ever, after all. He had his father to thank for that recurrent dream.*

Yuuri was panicking in the wierdest way imaginable, he was completely freaked out and had no idea why. Every muscle of his body was tense, and he was utterly unable to control his breathing, and still, he found nothing better to do, no other idea in his brain, but to just pretend to still be asleep.

After only a few seconds, Yuuri could have sworn they were hours, he felt Murata move in his sleep while making some whimpering sounds. He couldn't open his eyes so he wasn't sure where he was moving to, until he felt hot waves of breath near his chin and a loose hair touch his cheek. Murata had moved closer. Yuuri froze.

Ken had a much difficult time than Yuuri falling asleep, but when sleep finally found him it was in a very pacific way. There were no nightmares, no memories that night. His mind was just blank.

Nonetheless, still deep in his slumber, a cold breeze had caught Ken's back and disturbed his precious, much-needed sleep. Feeling a source of warmth close in front of him, he unconsciously snuggled close to it.

It took about three seconds for Ken to realize what he had just done and for all his blood to run down to his feet. He was suddenly wide awake, and very conscious of Shibuya's body, only a movement away from his. There was no clean exit from this situation, he was doomed if Shibuya waked up while he moved away and found him just inches away from his face.

Then he noticed Shibuya's breath was very heavy and uneven, he couldn't open his eyes to find out, but he was pretty sure his eyes were at the level of Shibuya's mouth, judging by how he could feel him breathing through the nose into his forehead.

He also noticed Shibuya's body was actually very tensed up, it almost choked every once in a while, and the movement did not go unnoticed by him.

That could only meant one thing: Shibuya was already awake...

And he was screwed, oh so screwed.

Both young men held their position as if in deep sleep, after about two minutes they were both fully aware that the other one was faking, and after two more they were sure they had not succeeded in hiding their own awoken state.

Hot and damp waves of air were mixing in between them. Yuuri could feel Murata breath into his neck and was starting to feel dizzy again. A million thought passed through his mind every time the warm air reached him.

The first couple of minutes Yuuri had felt incredibly uncomfortable, and that was about it. But as time passed and his breath became heavier and shorter, he found himself feeling... what was he feeling? What was happening to him?

This was Murata, his friend, he had never looked at Murata with those intentions, and yet why was it that every time the guy breathed he could only think of pulling him closer?

The bear back that he had seen earlier that night, he really wasn't thinking of anything like this at the time, but now it was just so close, at arms reach...

Ken was having a surreal experience and was wondering if he had really woken up a while ago or if this was just a dream, a very pleasant one, that is.

Every time he exhaled he could feel Shibuya tensing up, every second that passed Shibuya's breathing was more heated, short to moans on occasion. Ken's head was spinning, they hadn't even touched and yet he felt his body would explode in arousal, in anticipation.

The possible consequences of his actions had fled from his mind the moment he realized Shibuya was also feeling it. The last traces of his internal debate as to what to do were knocked out of him when, after a deep exhalation on his part on the verge of Shibuya's neck, he had actually groaned. It was almost inaudible, and Ken only heard it because he was so close to Shibuya's throat, it didn't matter.

In a burst of courage he had no idea he possessed, Ken looked up, a single, fast movement, and their lips were almost touching. However there was when the flame of bravery died out, that final step, he couldn't take it.

Ever so slowly, Ken opened his eyes, it took nearly a second to get used to the dark, and there they were, that intense black gaze. Yuuri was looking right at him, right through him. Those eyes were piercing through his soul, he felt naked.

With the last piece of sanity left in his body, Ken managed to pull up his right hand and place it on Shibuya's shoulder, as if to push him away, unable to control his breathing and feeling like each part of his body weighed three times as much.

Yuuri was trying to remember himself of a lot of things, first, this was Murata, Glasses guy! his schoolmate! What was he thinking? And second, he was twenty-four years old and shouldn't be so flustered by something like this, even if he had never had a girlfriend, and had never actually done anything like this... well, it was discussable, maybe. Then he felt movement, he immediately opened his eyes and found himself facing Murata.

To describe the look on his eyes would have been an impossible task. So many emotions ran through them at once, fear, excitement, arousal, impatience. The Murata that Yuuri knew had never been so transparent, and that made Yuuri shiver. He felt something burning on his stomach, then he felt Murata's hand reaching his shoulder in the most pathetic attempt to push him away.

Yuuri knew that the eyes looking at him were pleading, for either being pushed away or embraced. He needed to choose, he wanted to think, really think about it, did this mean Murata loved him? What were his own feelings? But his mind was too clouded, his breath was too hot, the ceiling was starting to spin, before he himself knew what he was doing...

Their lips joined.

Ken felt himself gasping in surprise into the other's mouth. Their lips were barely touching, only just grazing against each other in timid and slow motions. The hand that was still on Shibuya's shoulder was now gripping the fabric of the pajamas like his life depended on it.

With his eyes closed Ken felt a hand cupping his cheek to then quickly move to his neck and the back of his head, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. It was surreal, it couldn't possibly be happening. Shibuya had never, not once, shown any interest in him, so why now? what did this mean?

Little pieces of doubt started piling up on Ken's stomach, maybe he was just some sort of replacement, maybe Shibuya had just been swept away by the moment, maybe, and quite likely, he would regret this in the morning. But none of it mattered, none of it was enough to part his mind from that single moment. His own body wouldn't let him.

One, two, ten minutes passed by and the room's temperature had officially gone up a few degrees. What had been timid movements had now become a raging fire that none of the young men knew how to stop. Deep kisses, hands moving up and down, unable to define where to trace the line to stop. Clumsily exploring ears, neck, chest...

"Wait..." who had said it? they were both thinking it, maybe it had been the two of them.

Giving each other space to breathe they moved a few inches away.

"I..." Ken said it, he was the one speaking, but as soon as he realized that fact, he also noticed he had no idea of what he wanted to say, he was speechless. Only one other man, in this or any other life, had had this sort of effect on him.

Ken though he wanted to kick himself at that moment for more than one reason. Shinou's shadow fell heavily on his shoulders, just what was he doing, he knew better than to compare those two, it was pointless to start with. But the wound left by Shinou's absence was yet to heal... he felt his eyes becoming watery and looked down, wondering when had he become such a crybaby and hoping Shibuya hadn't notice.

"I know"

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*If you read the manga or the novel, you know what I'm talking about.

I'm on a roll with this! Well, I was at least, right now I don't really know how to continue LOL. So I'm requesting your help, if you want to see more soon, you'll have to give me some ideas.

Anyway, don't forget to review ;)


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